LIBRARY 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

SANTA  BARBARA 

PRESENTED  BY 


ELIZABETH    HARDISON 


cyOov-t  ^Crt^ 


Marie  Louise 


THE    ISLAND    OF    ELBA,    AND    THE 
HUNDRED    DAYS 


BY 


IMBERT    DE    SAINT-AMAND 


TRANSLATED   BY 
ELIZABETH    GILBERT   MARTIN 


WITH  PORTRAIT 


NEW   YORK 
CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 

1895 


COPYRIGHT,   I89I, 
BY  CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.     The  Return  of  Marie  Louise  to  Austria 1 

II.     Napoleon's  Arrival  at  the  Island  of  Elba 11 

III.  Queen  Marie  Caroline 22 

IV.  Marie  Louise  at  Aix   in  Savoy 31 

V.     Marie  Louise  in  Switzerland „ . . .     40 

VI.  Marie  Louise  during  the  Congress  of  Vienna...     04 

VII.     Tin;  Return  from  Elba 82 

VIII.     Marie  Louise  during   the   Hundred  Days Ill 

IX.     Tin:  Field  of  May V3S 

X.     Waterloo 155 

XI.     Napoleon  II 172 

XII.      Malmaison 200 

XIII.  Rociiei-ort 214 

XIV.  The  Be li.erophon 2.'!8 

XV.      The  North lmiserla.nd 2(J0 


MARIE   LOUISE, 

THE  ISLAND  OF  ELBA,  AND  THE  HUNDRED 
DAYS. 

I. 

THE   RETUKN   OF   MARIE   LOUISE   TO   AUSTRIA. 

FROM  the  double  point  of  view  of  psychology 
and  history  it  is  a  sad  but  curious  task  to  study 
the  gradations  by  which  the  Empress  Marie  Louise 
was,  little  by  little,  transformed  from  a  devoted  and 
irreproachable  wife  into  a  forgetful,  indifferent,  and 
faithless  one.  When  she  left  the  soil  of  France,  her 
sentiments  toward  her  husband  were  still  honest.  If 
she  had  not  rejoined  him  at  Fontainebleau,  the  fault 
should  be  attributed  to  him  rather  than  to  her.  To 
the  very  end  she  had  fulfilled  her  duties  as  Regent 
with  exactness  and  loyalty,  and  Napoleon  rendered 
her  entire  justice  on  this  point.  We  believe  that, 
when  she  entered  Switzerland,  she  was  still  minded 
to  go  to  Elba  very  soon.  During  the  early  days  of 
her  sojourn  at  Schoenbrunn  she  remained  more  French 
than  Austrian.  She  greatly  preferred  the  Duehess  of 
Montebello  to  any  of  the  Viennese  court  ladies;  she 
showed  high  esteem  for  Madame  de  Montesquiou,  M. 

1 


2  ELBA,   AND    THE  HUNDRED   DAYS. 

de  Bausset,  and  M.  de  Meneval,  who  constantly  talked 
to  her  of  Napoleon  and  of  France ;  she  retained  her 
husband's  imperial  coat-of-arms  upon  her  carriages, 
her  silver,  and  the  liveries  of  her  attendants.  Her 
household  was  entirely  French,  and  at  the  court  of 
her  father  she  was  reproached  with  always  playing 
the  part  of  Empress.  The  Countess  of  Montesquiou, 
who  continued  to  fulfil  her  functions  as  governess 
with  the  greatest  zeal,  talked  unceasingly  of  the  Em- 
peror Napoleon  to  the  little  Bonaparte,  as  the  unfor- 
tunate King  of  Rome  was  styled  at  Vienna.  She 
taught  the  child  to  love  his  father  and  to  pray  for 
him. 

The  Emperor  Francis  proceeded  slowly  and  by 
degrees.  He  was  too  adroit  to  precipitate  counsels 
or  commands  which  at  the  first  moment  his  daughter 
might  have  found  cynical.  lie  did  nothing  to  wound 
or  shock  her.  He  permitted  her  to  take  the  waters 
at  Aix-les-Bains,  which,  in  1814,  was  still  a  French 
town,  and  where  she  went  out  driving  in  open  car- 
riages bearing  the  imperial  arms  of  France. 

At  this  time  the  attitude  of  Marie  Louise  was  still 
absolutely  correct.  But  the  crafty  Austrian  policy 
understood  how  to  find  a  man  who  should  succeed  in 
turning  the  wife  from  her  husband.  This  man  was  a 
military  diplomatist,  General  Count  Neipperg,  a  re- 
lentless enemy  of  France  and  of  Napoleon.  Com- 
plaisant, skilful,  energetic,  a  thorough  man  of  the 
world,  an  accomplished  courtier,  an  excellent  musi- 
cian, he  knew  how  to  make  his  way  by  insinuation 


THE  RETURN    TO  AUSTRIA. 


as  well  as  by  force.  He  was  married  to  a  divorced 
woman  whom  lie  had  abducted  from  her  husband, 
who  was  still  living  in  1814,  and  by  whom  he  had 
several  children.  He  had  but  one  eye,  having  lost 
the  other  in  battle,  and  he  wore  a  black  bandage  to 
hide  the  scar.  He  might  have  been  the  father  of 
Marie  Louise,  for  he  was  by  twenty-one  years  her 
senior.  Who  could  have  imagined  that  this  man 
would  be  the  successor  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon? 
General  Neipperg,  as  husband  of  the  Empress  Marie 
Louise,  is  not  less  astonishing  than  the  Widow  Sear- 
ron,  the  spouse  of  the  Sun-King.  In  history  we  pass 
from  one  surprise  to  another,  and  find  in  destiny  a 
fantastic  something  which  causes  the  life  of  peoples 
as  well  as  of  individuals  to  seem  like  a  dream. 

After  the  abdication  at  Eontaiuebleau,  Napoleon 
was  not  yet,  in  appearance  at  least,  on  ill  terms  with 
his  father-in-law.  On  April  10,  1814,  the  Emperor 
Francis  had  written  him  thus,  from  llambouillet :  — 

*■  Monsieur  my  Brother  and  Dear  Son-in- 
Law  :  The  tender  solicitude  which  I  feel  toward 
the  Empress,  my  daughter,  has  induced  me  to  meet 
her  here.  I  arrived  only  a  few  hours  ago,  and  I  am 
but  too  well  convinced  that  her  health  has  suffered 
extremely  since  I  saw  her  last.  I  have  decided  to 
propose  her  return  to  the  bosom  of  her  family  for 
some  months.  She  is  in  the  greatest  need  of  calm 
and  repose,  and  Your  Majesty  has  given  her  too  many 
proofs  of  veritable  attachment,  for  me  to  doubt  that 
you  will  consent  to  my  wishes  and  approve  my  deter- 


4  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DATS. 

mination.  When  she  is  restored  to  health,  my  daugh- 
ter will  take  possession  of  her  territory,  which  will 
quite  naturally  bring  her  nearer  to  the  abode  of  Your 
Majesty.  Doubtless  it  would  be  superfluous  for  me 
to  give  Your  Majesty  the  assurance  that  your  son 
will  form  a  part  of  my  family,  and  that,  during  his 
residence  in  my  dominions,  I  shall  share  the  solici- 
tude owed  him  by  his  mother.  Receive,  Monsieur 
my  brother,  the  assurance  of  my  most  distinguished 
consideration.  I  am  Your  Imperial  Majesty's  at- 
tached brother  and  father-in-law,  FRANCIS." 
But  it  was  not  this  letter  that  expressed  the  real 
sentiments  of  the  Emperor  of  Austria ;  these  were 
contained  in  the  one  he  had  written  five  days  earlier 
to  Prince  Metternich,  in  which  these  significant  lines 
occur :  "  The  important  thing  is  to  get  Napoleon 
away  from  France ;  and  God  grant  he  may  be  sent 
very  far !  You  were  right  not  to  defer  the  conclusion 
of  the  treaty  until  I  should  arrive  in  Paris,  for  it  is 
only  by  this  means  that  an  end  can  be  put  to  the  war. 
I  do  not  approve  the  choice  of  the  Island  of  Elba  as 
a  residence  for  Napoleon  ;  they  take  it  from  Tuscany  ; 
they  dispose  of  things  which  properly  belong  to  my 
family  in  favor  of  foreigners.  This  must  not  occur 
again.  Besides,  Napoleon  remains  too  close  to  France 
and  to  Europe.  However,  if  the  thing  cannot  be 
prevented,  we  must  try  to  secure  that  Elba  revert  to 
Tuscany  afte:  Napoleon's  death ;  that  I  be  named 
co-guardian  of  the  child  for  Parma ;  and  that,  in  case 
of  the  death  of  my  daughter  and  the  child,  the  terri- 


THE  RETURN   TO  AUSTRIA. 


tory  destined  for  them  be  not  retained  for  the  family 
of  Napoleon." 

It  is  more  than  evident  that  the  Emperor  Francis, 
even  admitting  that  he  had  ever  had  any  sympathy 
with  his  son-in-law,  which  is  doubtful,  no  longer  re- 
tained the  slightest  trace  of  it.  He  thought  him  a 
danger  to  Europe  in  general,  and  to  Austria  in  par- 
ticular. Napoleon  still  preserved  his  illusions ;  he 
imagined  that  his  father-in-law  was  seriously  inter- 
ested in  his  fate  and  had  obtained  for  him  the  sover- 
eignty of  the  Island  of  Elba,  poor  flotsam  from  a 
colossal  shipwreck.  Napoleon  deceived  himself.  For 
the  Island  of  Elba  lie  was  indebted  solely  to  the 
magnanimity  of  the  Emperor  Alexander,  whom  he 
had  injured  so  deeply,  and  who  behaved  like  a 
generous  enemy.  The  Austrian,  on  the  contrary, 
showed  himself  implacable  towards  the  man  to  whom 
he  had  pardoned  neither  Wagram  nor  Marengo. 

On  May  2,  1814,  Marie  Louise  left  France.  Es- 
corted by  a  detachment  of  Swiss  cavalry,  which  re- 
ceived her  at  the  frontier,  she  entered  Basle  the  same 
day  between  a  double  row  of  Swiss,  Austrian,  and 
Bavarian  troops.  Her  suite  and  that  of  her  son  was 
composed  of  the  Countess  of  Montesquiou,  who  still 
retained  her  post  as  governess  to  the  little  Prince; 
the  Duchess  of  Montebello,  who,  although  not  a  ladv- 
of-honor,  had  wished  to  accompany  the  Empress  as 
far  as  Vienna,  in  order  to  delay  for  a  few  days  a 
separation  which  was  painful  to  them  both;  the 
Countess  of  Brignole,  who  had  succeeded  Madame 


U  ELBA,    AND    THE  HUNDRED   DAYS. 

de  Montebello,  and  who  was  to  remain  with  and  die 
in  the  service  of  Marie  Louise ;  General  Cafarelli ; 
Baron  de  Saint-Aignan ;  Doctor  Corvisart,  the  surgeon 
Lacorner,  who  intended  to  return  to  France  in  a  few 
days  with  the  Duchess  of  Montebello:  Baron  de 
Meneval ;  Madame  Hureau  de  Sorbec ;  Baron  de 
Bausset,  Madame  Rabusson,  and  Madame  Soufrlot, 
who  expected  to  remain  for  several  years  longer  in 
attendance  on  the  Empress.  Nothing  that  concerned 
her  personal  service  was  changed.  She  retained  the 
same  individuals,  the  same  display,  the  same  customs, 
the  same  household  arrangements,  the  same  etiquette, 
the  same  domestics,  the  same  equipages.  Her  retinue 
occupied  twenty-four  carriages.  The  expenses  of  the 
journey  across  France  amounted  to  fifty  thousand 
francs.  Marie  Louise  travelled  as  a  sovereign :  and 
yet  the  little  King  of  Rome  perceived  a  change  in  his 
destiny.  "  Ah  !  "  said  he,  "  I  see  very  well  I  am  no 
longer  a  king,  for  I  have  no  longer  any  pages." 

At  Basle,  Marie  Louise  received  a  letter  which 
Napoleon  had  addressed  to  her  from  Frejus,  on  April 
28,  1814;  it  revived  in  her  heart  the  regret  she  had 
often  expressed  for  not  having  gone  to  meet  her 
husband  at  Fontainebleau.  M.  de  Meneval  also 
received  a  letter,  dated  at  Frejus,  in  which  General 
Bertrand  said  to  him:  "  We  had  a  sad  journey,  as 
you  can  easily  believe;  good  enough  through  nearly 
the  whole  of  France,  where  the  Emperor  received 
testimonies  of  regret,  and  the  respect  due  to  his 
position ;  but  in  Provence  we  were  exposed  to  in- 


THE  RETURN   TO  AUSTRIA. 


suits  which,  happily,  have  not  been  repeated.  You 
must  be  aware  how  greatly  we  desire  that  the  Em- 
press should  divide  her  time  between  Parma  and 
the  Island  of  Elba;  we  should  be  so  happy  to  see 
her  now  and  then.  She  has  been  so  kind  to  my  wife 
and  me  that  I  desire  this  more  keenly  than  any  one. 
I  beg-  you  to  lay  at  her  feet  the  homage  of  my 
respectful  devotion.  The  Emperor  continues  in  good 
health,  notwithstanding  the  cruel  position  in  which 
he  has  been  placed  for  the  last  month." 

At  this  moment  the  ties  which  attached  Marie 
Louise  to  Napoleon  were  not  broken.  We  desire 
no  other  proof  of  it  than  this  long  letter  which  she 
wrote  to  her  father  from  Zurich :  "  At  Basle  I  had 
the  consolation  of  receiving  news  from  the  Emperor, 
lie  is  well,  but  he  is  very  much  pained  by  the  manner 
in  which  he  was  received  in  Provence.  He  has  also 
other  anxieties  about  which  I  wish  to  consult  }"OU. 
You  know  how  disagreeable  it  is  to  me  to  speak  of 
money.  But  I  think  it  my  duty,  as  wife  and  mother, 
to  explain  to  you  the  condition  in  which  the  Emperor 
has  been  placed,  and  to  beg  your  intervention.  I  do 
not  ask  anything  for  myself,  because  I  believe  that 
if  I  were  in  need,  you  would  not  let  me  want  for 
anything.  The  Emperor  has  very  little  money  with 
him.  Ten  or  twelve  millions,  the  fruit  of  his  econo- 
mies on  the  civil  list  for  twelve  years,  and  a  great 
number  of  snuff-boxes  set  round  with  brilliants,  are 
at  Orleans,  confiscated  unlawfully  by  a  commissary 
of  the  Provisional  Government.     All  this  belongs  to 


8  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

the  Emperor  and  my  son.  They  have  even  carried 
off  his  library  and  other  things  which  he  used  daily. 
I  entreat  you  to  employ  all  possible  means  that  he 
may  be  put  in  possession  of  what  is  his.  Things 
which  belonged  to  the  crown  —  diamonds,  bank  de- 
posits, and  other  papers  —  have  been  returned  through 
the  intermediary  of  the  directors  or  treasurers.  The 
Emperor  has  been  credited  on  the  civil  list  with  an 
annuity  of  two  millions ;  but  the  manner  in  which 
the  government  is  acting  does  not  permit  the  hope 
that  it  will  ever  be  paid,  unless  you,  my  dear  father, 
whose  character  is  so  just,  defend  the  interests  of 
your  son-in-law,  who  is  no  longer  your  enemy.  My 
absolute  confidence  in  your  generosity  and  your 
goodness  induces  me  to  make  this  application.  I  am 
sure  that  my  confidence  will  not  be  deceived." 

While  Marie  Louise,  still  faithful  to  her  duties, 
thus  pleaded  the  cause  of  her  husband,  the  Austrian 
oligarchy  was  seeking  every  possible  means  to  make 
their  separation  final.  Nothing  was  left  undone 
which  could  give  the  return  of  the  dethroned  sover- 
eign to  her  own  country  the  appearance  of  a  victory 
rather  than  a  defeat.  Marie  Louise  was  received 
everywhere  with  the  same  eclat,  the  same  respect, 
the  same  splendor  as  in  the  palace  of  the  Tuileries. 
"Our  journey,"  said  Baron  de  Bausset,  who  was  one 
of  her  suite, "  was  more  like  a  triumph  than  a  festi- 
val; one  might  justly  have  thought  that  Austria, 
obliged  for  a  time  to  part  with  an  adored  princess, 
celebrated  her  return  as  a  conquest.     The  sovereigns 


THE  RETURN    TO  AUSTRIA.  9 

of  Baden,  Wiirtemberg,  and  Bavaria,  whose  extreme 
frontiers  we  crossed,  sent  deputations  of  the  highest 
crown  oihcials  to  meet  her ;  nothing  was  lacking  but 
triumphal  arches  to  make  one  believe  that  we  were 
on  the  faithful  and  submissive  soil  of  the  old  Con- 
federation of  the  Rhine.  After  having  admired  the 
famous  falls  of  the  Rhine,  near  Schaffhausen,  and 
the  beautiful  lakes  of  Zurich  and  Constance,  we 
arrived  at  the  Tyrol."  There  the  people  saluted  the 
august  traveller  with  transports  of  joy  and  enthu- 
siasm which  verged  on  frenzy. 

The  Tyrol,  which  Napoleon  had  annexed  to  Bavaria 
against  the  wishes  of  its  inhabitants,  still  belonged 
to  that  power,  but  in  a  few  weeks  it  was  to  be  re- 
stored to  Austria.  The  Tyrolese  considered  the  pas- 
sage of  Marie  Louise  an  occasion  for  displaying  their 
sentiments  of  affection  and  loyalty  to  the  Ilapsburg 
dynasty.  At  Fuessen,  Reutte,  Innspruck,  and  Salz- 
burg the  excitement  was  general.  Snow  fell  in  vain. 
Nothing  could  chill  the  people's  enthusiasm.  These 
brave  and  loyal  Tyrolese,  whom  Alfred  do  Musset 
has  described  as 

<;  a  people  heroic  and  proud, 
Mountaineers  like  the  eagle,  and  free  like  the  air," 

celebrated  the  arrival  of  the  daughter  of  the  Austrian 
Emperor  as  a  signal  of  deliverance.  They  unhar- 
nessed the  horses  from  her  carriage  and  that  of  her 
son,  and  drew  them  with  their  own  hands.  All  along 
the   route  fireworks  were  set   off  to  the    flourish    of 


10  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUN  BRED  DAYS. 

trumpets,  responded  to  by  troops  of  singers  so  placed 
that  their  voices  sounded  like  distant  echoes.  The 
towns  were  illuminated.  At  every  chateau  where  the 
wife  and  son  of  Napoleon  reposed,  Tyrolese  in  yellow 
hats  adorned  with  green  feathers  mounted  guard. 
Never  did  sovereign  receive  a  warmer  welcome. 

After  leaving  Salzburg,  Marie  Louise  journeyed 
towards  Vienna  by  the  way  of  Moelk.  At  the  abbey 
of  this  name  she  found  Prince  Trautmansdorff,  chief 
equerry,  who  had  been  despatched  by  the  Empress  of 
Austria,  to  inquire  at  what  hour  in  the  morning  she 
would  leave  there.  Four  leagues  from  Vienna,  be- 
tween Saint  Poelten  and  Siegartskirchen,  she  met  her 
step-mother,  the  Empress  of  Austria,  who  had  come 
to  bid  her  welcome,  and  who  was  accompanied  by 
Countess  Lazanski,  who  had  been  grand  mistress  of 
the  household  to  Marie  Louise  until  her  marriage. 
When  the  carriages  came  together,  the  Empress  of 
Austria  resigned  hers  to  the  Duchess  of  Montebello 
and  Countess  Lazanski,  and  entered  that  of  her  step- 
daughter. On  the  same  evening,  May  18, 1814,  Marie 
Louise  arrived  at  the  Castle  of  Schoenbrunn,  the  end 
of  her  journey.  She  was  received  there  by  the  arch- 
dukes, her  brothers,  and  her  uncles.  Pier  sisters, 
who  were  waiting  for  her  at  the  door  of  her  apart- 
ments, threw  their  arms  about  her,  and  felicitated  her 
on  her  return  as  if  it  were  a  happy  miracle.  And, 
beholding  once  more  the  places  where  her  infancy  had 
been  spent,  the  former  Empress  of  the  French  felt 
all  her  German  patriotism  reawaken  in  her  soul. 


II. 


NAPOLEON  S   ARRIVAL   AT   THE   ISLAND   OF   ELBA. 

MARIE  LOUISE  crossed  the  frontier  of  France 
for  the  last  time,  May  2, 1814.  On  the  follow- 
ing day  Napoleon  reached  Elba  on  the  English  frigate 
Undaunted.  He  had  not  been  free  from  disquieting 
thoughts  concerning  his  probable  reception  there. 
Would  the  French  garrison,  commanded  by  General 
Dalesme,  the  governor  of  the  island,  deliver  up  to 
him  the  territory  they  guarded?  Among  the  island- 
ers there  were  some  who  wished  to  be  called  English ; 
others  who  desired  to  be  free  from  any  master.  On 
several  promontories  might  be  seen  floating,  almost 
side  by  side,  the  white  flag  and  the  tricolor. 

Toward  nightfall  on  May  3  the  Undaunted  neared 
Porto-Ferrajo  and  hove  to  about  a  quarter  of  a  league 
from  the  town.  A  few  minutes  later  she  put  off  a 
small  boat  containing  General  Drouot,  the  Emperor's 
commissary,  Count  Klamm,  and  Lieutenant  Smith. 
They  were  the  bearers  of  an  order  from  the  French 
government,  directing  General  Dalesme  to  deliver 
his  command  to  General  Drouot,  together  with  the 
island,  the    forts,  and    all    munitions    of    war.     The 

11 


12  ELBA,   AND   TIIE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

latter,  on  landing,  received  from  General  Dalesme 
the  keys  of  the  town,  the  forts,  and  three  hundred 
and  twenty -five  cannon. 

This  accomplished,  General  Dalesme  went  on  board 
the  English  frigate,  accompanied  by  all  the  local 
authorities,  who  were  anxious  to  present  themselves 
to  their  new  sovereign.  Napoleon  questioned  them 
concerning  the  island  and  its  inhabitants  and  then 
dismissed  them,  after  having  ordered  the  sub-prefect 
to  convoke  the  mayors  and  the  parish  priests.  The 
population  of  Porto-Ferrajo,  convinced  that  the  Em- 
peror had  brought  great  treasures  with  him,  had 
already  assembled  in  the  public  square,  and  were 
impatiently  awaiting  their  illustrious  monarch.  But 
at  eleven  o'clock,  Napoleon,  having  tacked  about  the 
island,  caused  General  Dalesme  to  be  informed  that 
his  formal  entry  would  be  deferred  to  the  afternoon 
of  May  4. 

On  the  morning  of  that  day  the  following  procla- 
mation of  General  Dalesme  was  found  posted  on  the 
walls  of  Porto-Ferrajo  :  — 

"Inhabitants  of  the  island  of  Elba:  the  vicissitudes 
natural  to  humanity  have  brought  the  Emperor  Na- 
poleon hither;  his  choice  has  given  him  to  you  as 
sovereign.  Before  entering  these  walls,  your  new 
aid  august  monarch  addressed  to  me  the  following 
,  rords,  which  I  hasten  to  make  known  to  you,  because 
they  are  the  pledge  of  your  future  happiness:  'Gen- 
eral, I  have  sacrificed  my  rights  to  the  interests  of 
my  country,  reserving  to  myself,  with  the  consent  of 


NAPOLEON'S  ARRIVAL  AT  ELBA.  13 

all  the  Powers,  the  sovereignty  and  ownership  of  the 
Island  of  Elba.  Be  so  good  as  to  make  the  people 
acquainted  with  the  new  state  of  affairs,  and  the 
choice  I  have  made  of  their  island  for  my  residence ; 
I  have  selected  it  on  account  of  the  mildness  of  their 
manners  and  their  climate.  Tell  them  that  they  will 
always  be  the  object  of  my  most  lively  interest.'  — 
Elbans!  there  is  no  need  of  comment  on  these  words. 
They  fix  your  destiny.  The  Emperor  has  judged  you 
rightly.  I  owe  you  this  justice,  and  I  render  it. 
People  of  Elba,  I  shall  soon  leave  you.  My  depart- 
ure will  pain  me,  for  I  love  you  sincerely;  but  the 
thought  of  your  happiness  will  sweeten  my  sorrow,  and 
in  whatever  place  I  may  be  I  shall  remain  near  this 
island  in  spirit,  through  my  memory  of  the  virtues  of 
its  inhabitants  and  the  wishes  I  shall  form  for  them." 

By  noon  the  troops  were  under  arms,  and  the 
authorities  assembled  at  the  wharf.  The  Emperor's 
landing  at  three  o'clock  was  announced  by  a  salute 
of  twenty-one  guns  from  the  English  frigate  and  as 
many  from  the  guns  of  the  fortress.  Napoleon  was 
at  once  harangued  by  the  authorities  of  the  island, 
and  he  responded  very  nearly  in  these  words  : — • 

"The  mildness  of  your  climate,  and  the  romantic 
scenery  of  your  island,  have  decided  me  to  choose  it, 
among  all  my  vast  domains,  for  the  place  of  my  abode. 
I  hope  that  you  will  know  how  to  appreciate  this 
preference,  and  that  you  will  love  me  like  submissive 
children;  you  will  then  find  me  always  disposed  to 
have  for  you  the  solicitude  of  a  father." 


14  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

As  soon  as  Napoleon  had  finished  this  little  speech, 
three  violinists  and  two  violoncellists  who  accom- 
panied the  Elban  officials  began  to  play  ;  the  Emperor 
placed  himself  under  a  canopy,  and  was  conducted  in 
procession  to  the  church,  where  the  Te  Deum  was 
intoned.  Strange  irony  of  fate  —  the  fallen  sovereign 
of  an  immense  empire  causing  the  Te  Deum  to  be 
chanted  because  he  has  lost  all  his  dominions  except 
the  Island  of  Elba ! 

The  ceremony  ended,  Napoleon  went  to  the  town 
hall,  where  he  was  to  lodge.  The  hall  which  was 
ordinarily  used  for  public  balls  had  been  ornamented 
with  a  few  little  pictures  and  some  chandeliers.  In 
the  middle  of  it  a  throne  had  been  hastily  erected, 
and  decorated  with  gilded  paper  and  fragments  of 
scarlet  cloth.  Many  of  the  crowd  that  followed  the 
sovereign  were  allowed  to  enter.  He  urged  the 
mayors  to  maintain  order  in  their  communes,  and 
the  pastors  to  preach  concord  among  their  flocks. 
Then  the  new  colors  were  hoisted,  as  we  learn  from 
the  subjoined  official  report:  — 

"To-day,  May  4,  1814,  His  Majesty  the  Emperor 
Napoleon,  having  taken  possession  of  the  Island  of 
Elba,  General  Drouot,  governor  of  the  island  in  the 
name  of  the  Emperor,  raised  the  new  flag  above  the 
forts ;  a  white  ground  crossed  diagonally  with  a  red 
band  sown  with  three  bees  upon  a  ground  of  gold. 
This  standard  was  saluted  by  the  batteries  of  the 
coast  forts,  the  English  frigate  Undaunted,  and  the 
French    men-of-war  which  were  in  the    harbor.     In 


NAPOLEON'S  ARRIVAL  AT  ELBA.  15 

witness  whereof,  we,  commissioners  of  the  Allied 
Powers,  together  with  General  Drouot  and  General 
Dalesme,  have  signed  this  report." 

The  next  morning  Napoleon  went  out  on  foot  at 
five  o'clock  to  visit  all  the  public  institutions.  He 
did  not  come  in  until  nine  o'clock,  having  over- 
whelmed with  questions  every  one  he  met.  He  com- 
manded various  alterations.  He  would  have  liked  to 
transform  the  barracks  of  Saint  Francis  at  once  into  a 
palace  wherein  he  might  take  up  his  residence.  On 
May  6,  he  started  very  early  to  go  and  see  the  mines 
at  Rio.  He  examined  everything  with  scrupulous 
attention,  and  gave  great  praise  to  the  director  of  the 
mines.  He  was  occupying  himself  as  diligently  with 
an  island  twenty  leagues  in  circumference  and  con- 
taining twelve  thousand  inhabitants,  as  he  had  done 
with  the  gigantic  empire  which  extended  from  Rome 
to  Dantzic.  The  same  day,  with  a  view  to  gaining 
the  affections  of  the  Elbans,  he  contributed  sixty 
thousand  francs  toward  the  construction  of  roads  long 
contemplated,  but  never  begun  for  want  of  funds. 
He  possessed  this  sum  in  uncoined  gold,  and  he  had 
it  minted,  in  order  that  his  generosity  might  produce 
a  greater  effect  when  his  servants  carried  it  in  sacks 
across  the  town.  Nobody  talked  of  anything  but  his 
immense  treasures  and  the  prodigies  he  was  going  to 
perform.  The  people  were  enthusiastic  for  their  new 
sovereign :  he  inflamed  their  southern  imaginations. 

On  May  6,  the  Vicar-General  Arrighi  issued  a 
charge  which  resembles  a  hymn  of  thanksgiving :  — 


1G  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

"  To  my  well-beloved  in  the  Lord,  my  brethren  of 
the  clergy,  and  all  the  faithful  of  the  island,  health 
and  benediction.  Divine  Providence,  which  in  its 
benevolence  irresistibly  disposes  all  things,  and  as- 
signs their  destinies  to  nations,  has  willed  that  in  the 
midst  of  the  political  changes  of  Europe,  we  should 
become  for  the  future  the  subjects  of  Napoleon  the 
Great.  The  Island  of  Elba,  already  celebrated  for 
its  natural  productions,  will  hereafter  become  illus- 
trious in  the  history  of  nations  by  the  homage  it 
renders  to  its  new  Prince,  whose  glory  is  immortal. 
The  Island  of  Elba,  in  fact,  takes  rank  among  nations, 
and  its  narrow  territory  is  ennobled  by  the  name  of 
its  sovereign.  Raised  to  so  sublime  an  honor,  it  re- 
ceives in  its  bosom  the  Anointed  of  the  Lord,  and 
the  other  distinguished  personages  who  accompany 
him.  .  .  .  What  wealth  is  about  to  inundate  our 
country  !  What  multitudes  will  hasten  from  all  parts 
to  gaze  upon  the  hero  !  The  first  day  that  he  set  foot 
upon  this  shore  he  proclaimed  our  destiny  and  our 
happiness.  lI  will  he  a  good  father,''  said  he;  '■be 
my  beloved  children.''  Dear  Catholics,  what  words  of 
tenderness!  What  expressions  of  good-will!  What 
a  pledge  of  your  future  felicity  !  May  these  words 
charm  your  thoughts  delightfully  and  be  strongly 
imprinted  in  your  souls;  they  will  prove  an  inex- 
haustible source  of  consolation  !  " 

Never  had  Napoleon  been  more  lauded  in  the  days 
of  his  greatest  splendor.  May  7,  he  removed  to  the 
building  intended  for  the  military  engineers,  ceding 


NAPOLEON'S  ARRIVAL  AT  ELBA.  17 

to  its  officers,  until  they  should  depart,  the  rooms  he 
had  occupied  at  the  town-hall.  The  building  was 
only  one  story  high,  with  six  front  windows;  but  it 
was  isolated,  had  a  pretty  garden,  and  commanded 
views  of  the  city  and  the  sea.  From  among  the  citi- 
zens he  chose  four  chamberlains,  giving  them  salaries 
of  twelve  hundred  francs ;  three  orderlies ;  and  two 
stewards  of  the  palace.  This  little  court  of  Porto- 
Ferrajo  bore  small  resemblance  to  the  splendid  court 
of  the  Tuileries. 

The  Emperor  announced  that  he  would  receive 
ladies  twice  a  week,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
and  they  accepted  this  flattering  invitation.  Napoleon 
made  his  appearance  among  them,  and  asked  each 
the  name  and  profession  of  her  husband.  Most  of 
them  replied  that  they  were  engaged  in  commerce. 
The  Emperor  desired  to  know  what  branch  of  com- 
merce. One  was  a  baker;  another  a  butcher;  and 
so  on.  Chateaubriand  says:  "Bonaparte  was  con- 
tinually returning  throughout  his  life,  to  the  two 
sources  whence  it  sprang,  democracy  and  royal  power. 
His  power  came  to  him  from  the  masses  of  the  people; 
his  rank  from  his  genius.  So  one  sees  him  pass 
without  effort  from  the  public  square  to  the  throne; 
from  the  kings  and  queens  who  thronged  about  him 
at  Erfurt,  to  the  butchers  and  oil-sellers  who  danced 
in  his  grange  at  Porto-Ferrajo." 

From  the  7th  of  May  to  the  25th,  the  Emperor 
busied  himself  witli  the  repairs  on  his  house,  and  in 
fencing  the  approaches  to  it.     He  superintended  the 


18  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

work  himself ;  by  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  he  was 
among  the  masons  in  buckles  and  silk  stockings. 
On  May  25,  arrived  the  frigate  Dryade,  commanded 
by  Vicomte  de  Moncabrie*,  and  the  brig  Inconstant, 
commanded  by  Vicomte  de  Charrier-Moissard.  The 
frigate  was  to  take  back  the  French  garrison  from 
the  island,  and  the  brig  to  remain  for  Napoleon. 

Before  the  departure  from  Fontainebleau,  General 
Drouot  had  chosen  for  the  Emperor  among  the  Old 
Guard,  all  of  them  ready  to  follow  their  sovereign, 
something  like  six  hundred  grenadiers  and  foot-sol- 
diers, one  hundred  cavalry-men,  and  a  score  or  so  of 
marines;  in  all,  seven  hundred  and  eighty  picked 
men.  Having  marched  from  Fontainebleau  to  Savona, 
these  brave  and  faithful  soldiers  embarked  on  five 
English  transports,  and  landed  at  Porto-Ferrajo,  in 
the  night  of  May  25-26,  1814.  Their  arrival  caused 
Napoleon  great  joy.  At  the  sight  of  them  he  felt  all 
his  ambition  and  military  ardor  rekindle.  Chateau- 
briand, in  his  Memoires  cVoutre-tombe,  has  remarked : 
"  The  Allied  Powers  felicitated  themselves  on  having 
left  him,  in  derision  as  it  were,  a  few  hundred  sol- 
diers ;  he  needed  no  more  than  that  to  summon  all 
Europe  once  more  to  arms."  To  his  little  band  the 
Emperor  added  sixty  Poles  whom  lie  sent  for  from 
Parma ;  moreover,  just  as  the  two  French  battalions 
of  the  35th  Light  Infantry  were  about  to  take  ship 
for  France,  he  announced  that  he  would  keep  with 
him  as  many  as,  having  been  released  from  military 
service,   would   consent   to   enroll   themselves   under 


NAPOLEON'S  AH  RIVAL   AT  ELBA.  19 


his  flag.  lie  managed  in  this  way  to  retain  about 
three  hundred,  nearly  all  Corsicans.  He  further 
added  some  three  hundred  Elbans  to  his  little  army, 
and  thus  found  himself  at  the  head  of  fifteen  hundred 
soldiers.  He  organized  a  vigilant  police  throughout 
the  island  and  made  an  excellent  place  of  Porto- 
Ferrajo.  The  town  was  no  longer  recognizable. 
Workmen  of  all  trades  established  themselves  there. 
Foreigners  flocked  in,  drawn  either  by  curiosity  or 
the  hope  of  speculating  to  advantage.  The  price  of 
all  wares  doubled ;  rents  rose  to  extravagant  figures. 
General  Bertrand  wrote,  May  27,  1814,  to  M.  de 
Meneval :  "  The  Emperor  is  very  happy  here,  and 
seems  to  have  entirely  forgotten  how  differently  he 
was  situated  a  short  time  ago.  He  is  very  busy 
adorning  and  furnishing  his  house,  and  in  finding  a 
site  for  a  country-seat.  We  often  speak  of  our  excel- 
lent Empress."  And  again,  June  25:  "We  learn 
from  the  newspapers  that  the  Empress  has  arrived 
at  Vienna.  The  Emperor  continues  well.  We  go 
about  a  good  deal  on  horseback,  as  well  as  in  boats 
and  carriages.  The  Emperor's  dwelling  is  already 
much  improved,  and  others  are  being  arranged  in 
various  places  throughout  the  island.  We  hope  soon 
to  receive  news  from  the  Empress  and  the  Prince 
her  son.'' 

Napoleon  was  still  under  the  delusion  that  his  wife 
and  son  would  rejoin  him  at  Elba  in  a  few  weeks, 
and  this  hope  delighted  him.  On  June  2<>,  the  im- 
perial guard  gave  an  entertainment  to  the  inhabitants. 


20  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

There  was  a  ball,  at  which  the  Emperor  made  his 
appearance,  and  walked  about  the  room,  chatting 
with  and  questioning  the  ladies,  as  he  had  done  at 
the  Tuileries. 

On  the  whole,  the  time  which  Napoleon  passed  at 
Elba  was  not  unhappy.  After  so  many  emotions,  he 
needed  some  repose.  A  delightful  climate,  the  sea- 
views,  the  language  of  the  people,  which  was  his 
mother  tongue,  the  battalions  of  his  Old  Guard,  the 
fanatical  devotion  of  his  attendants,  who  were  ready 
to  shed  the  last  drop  of  their  blood  for  him,  —  all 
this  was  not  without  charm.  He  gave  his  little 
island  the  same  solicitous  care  that  he  had  given  his 
immense  empire.  Does  not  a  captain  occupy  him- 
self with  his  company  as  fully  as  a  commander-in- 
chief  with  his  army?  The  interest  one  takes  in 
things  is  not  measured  by  their  importance.  A 
laborer  often  loves  his  thatched  hut  more  than  a 
sovereign  does  his  palace.  Napoleon  regarded  him- 
self as  sj lending  the  season  at  Elba,  so  to  say,  and 
had  a  presentiment  that  some  day  or  other  he  would 
leave  it.  Moreover,  he  experieneed  a  malicious  pleas- 
ure in  following  attentively  the  mistakes  the  bour- 
bons were  making;  and  to  read  the  French  journals 
gave  him  infinite  joy.  It  was  all  very  well  for  him 
to  say,  as  lie  sometimes  did,  that,  as  a  philosopher 
weaned  from  human  grandeur,  he  wished  to  live 
hereafter  like  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  an  English 
shire.  But  one  morning,  when,  on  climbing  a  knoll 
which    overlooks    Porto-Ferrajo,  he    beheld   the    sea 


NAPOLEON'S  ARRIVAL  AT  ELBA.  21 

breaking  at  the  foot  of  the  cliffs  on  every  side,  he 
could  not  refrain  from  exclaiming,  tk  The  devil !  It 
must  be  owned,  my  island  is  small  enough  !  " 

At  bottom  he  was  tired  neither  of  war  nor  of  glory; 
and  the  ambitious  sovereign  of  the  Island  of  Elba,  in 
his  pretended  retreat,  resembled  neither  Diocletian  in 
the  gardens  of  Salona,  nor  Claries  Fifth  in  the  con- 
vent of  Saint-Just. 


III. 

QUEEN   MARIE   CAROLINE. 

WHILE  Napoleon  was  getting  settled  on  the 
Island  of  Elba,  Marie  Louise  was  resuming, 
at  Schoenbrunn,  the  habits  of  her  childhood  and  early- 
youth.  The  life  she  led  in  this  peaceful  retreat  must 
have  been  agreeable  after  so  many  tumults.  Her 
mornings  were  devoted  to  her  son,  whose  apartment 
communicated  with  her  own,  through  a  dressing- 
room.  During  the  day,  she  drew,  practised  music, 
and  studied  Italian,  a  language  she  would  need  at 
Parma  ;  she  rode ;  she  walked  or  drove  in  the  park 
of  Schoenbrunn  or  its  suburbs;  she  visited  the  curi- 
osities of  Vienna.  Silent  and  respectful  crowds 
always  showed  themselves  eager  to  see  her ;  and  the 
beauty  of  her  son,  who  was  the  most  charming  child 
in  the  world,  excited  general  admiration.  She  took 
great  pleasure  in  the  company  of  her  young  sisters : 
Leopoldine,  born  in  1797  (future  Empress  of  Brazil)  ; 
Marie  Clementine,  born  in  1798  (future  Princess  of 
Salerno)  ;  Caroline  Ferdinande,  born  in  1801  (future 
Princess  of  Saxe)  ;  Marie  Anne,  born  in  1804  (future 
Abbess  of  the  Chapter  of  the  Noble  Ladies  of  Prague). 
22 


QUEEN   MAE  IE   CAROLINE.  -3 


She  saw  her  brothers  very  often  also  :  Ferdinand,  the 
Prince  Imperial,  born  in  1793;  and  Francis  Charles 
Joseph,  born  in  1802.  This  Prince,  who  was  the 
father  of  the  present  Emperor  of  Austria,  was  the 
playmate  of  the  King  of  Rome,  now  called  the  Prince 
of  Parma. 

The  saddle  and  carriage  horses,  state  carriages, 
and  wagons  laden  with  the  private  property  of  Marie 
Louise,  which  had  left  Rambouillet  under  the  escort 
of  Austrian  troops,  readied  Vienna  in  June.  Among 
the  saddle  horses  was  an  Arabian  which  had  been 
Napoleon's  favorite  mount.  Some  one  proposed  that 
the  Emperor  of  Austria  should  use  it  when  he  made 
ins  ceremonious  entry  into  Vienna,  but  he  had  the 
good  taste  to  decline  this  sort  of  triumph. 

Marie  Louise  was  awaiting  her  father  with  impa- 
tience. She  had  seen  him  last  at  Rambouillet,  and 
in  him  were  centred  all  her  hopes.  Early  in  the 
morning  of  June  15,  1814,  she  left  Schoenbrunn  to 
meet  him.  She  stopped  at  Siegartskirchen,  two  leagues 
from  Vienna.  Shu  had  been  preceded  by  her  brothers 
and  sisters  and  her  step-mother.  She  received  her 
father  at  the  station,  in  the  same  room  where  Napo- 
leon, in  1805,  had  received  the  deputation  which 
brought  him  the  keys  of  Vienna.  The  Emperor 
Francis  got  into  his  daughter's  carriage,  and  went 
with  her  to  Schoenbrunn.  He  left  her  under  no 
illusions  concerning  the  kind  of  protection  he  meant 
to  give  her.  "  As  my  daughter,"  he  said  frankly, 
"  all  that  I  have  is  yours  ;  as  a  sovereign   I  do  not 


24  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

know  you."  The  next  day  he  made  his  triumphal 
entry  into  his  capital,  where  he  had  not  been  since 
the  last  war.  He  passed  through  all  its  streets 
amidst  joyful  acclamations.  The  procession  lasted 
five  hours,  and  ended  at  the  cathedral  of  Saint  Ste- 
phen, where  a  Te  Deum  was  intoned.  Then  the 
Emperor  returned  to  Schoenbrunn  with  Marie  Louise. 
The  entire  family  of  the  former  Empress  of  the 
French  conspired  to  alienate  her  from  her  husband. 
There  was  but  one  among  her  relatives  who  sought 
to  recall  her  to  sentiments  of  duty.  This  was  her 
grandmother,  Marie  Caroline,  the  Queen  of  the  Two 
Sicilies,  who  had  but  just  arrived  at  Vienna.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  the  great  Empress  Maria  The- 
resa, and  the  sister  of  Marie  Antoinette,  the  unfor- 
tunate Queen  of  France.  Prolific,  like  her  illustrious 
mother,  she  had  borne  eighteen  children,  among 
whom  was  Marie  Therese,  the  second  wife  of  the 
Emperor  Francis  and  the  mother  of  the  Empress 
Marie  Louise.  The  life  of  Queen  Marie  Caroline 
had  been  full  of  vicissitudes.  Courageous  to  hero- 
ism, energetic  to  cruelty,  religious  to  superstition, 
autocratic  to  despotism,  her  existence  was  crowded 
with  revolutions,  troubles,  and  crises  of  every  descrip- 
tion. Born  August  8,  1752,  she  married,  on  April 
7,  1768,  Ferdinand  IV.,  King  of  the  Two  Sicilies, 
who  began  to  reign  in  1759.  In  1800  she  came  to 
Vienna,  to  be  near  her  daughter  and  her  son-in-law. 
She  remained  two  years,  seeking  witli  all  her  might 
to   augment,   if   that  were   possible,  the  hatred  felt 


QUEEN  MARIE  CAROLINE.  25 

towards  France  and  French  ideas  by  the  court,  the 
aristocracy,  and  the  whole  Austrian  people. 

When  she  heard  of  Bonaparte's  victory  at  Marengo, 
Marie  Caroline  lost  consciousness,  and  nearly  died 
of  apoplexy.  She  detested  France  as  heartily  as  she 
did  Napoleon.  The  Revolution  had  slain  her  sister, 
and  the  Empire  had  robbed  her  of  the  throne  of 
Naples.  There  was  one  man,  however,  for  whom 
her  aversion  was  even  greater  than  for  Napoleon. 
She  was  probably  the  first  to  perceive,  in  1813,  that 
Murat  was  inclined  to  abandon  France,  and  seek  an 
alliance  with  Austria.  She  was  then  reigning  with 
her  husband  in  Sicily,  under  the  domination  of  the 
English,  whom  she  regarded  rather  as  tyrants  than 
as  protectors.  At  this  time  she  was  half  inclined  to 
seek  a  reconciliation  with  Napoleon,  and  she  sent  an 
agent  to  Vienna  to  warn  the  French  ambassador  of 
the  approaching  defection  of  Murat. 

In  1814  there  were,  singularly  enough,  two  queens 
of  the  Two  Sicilies,  each  of  them  named  Caroline  — 
one  the  sister  of  Marie  Antoinette,  the  other  the  sister 
ot  Napoleon;  and  at  this  epoch,  the  most  Napoleonic 
of  the  two  was  not  Marat's  wife.  Nor  is  it  less 
strange  that,  when  these  two  women  were  struggling 
with  equal  fury  for  the  throne  of  Naples,  Prima; 
Metternieh  was  far  more  favorable  to  Caroline  the 
sister  of  Napoleon,  than  to  Caroline  the  Ilapsburg, 
who  had  been  the  mother-in-law  of  his  sovereign,  the 
Emperor  of  Austria.  The  monarch  of  Elba  must 
have  been  more  than  a  little  surprised  if  he  learned 


26  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

who  it  was  that  befriended  him  with  most  energy, 
and  was  alone  in  exhorting  his  wife  to  remain  faithful 
to  her  conjugal  duty. 

Marie  Louise  remembered  having  seen  her  grand- 
mother when  she  was  a  child,  and  was  glad  to  meet 
her  again.  The  old  Queen's  journey  had  been  a 
veritable  adventure.  Accompanied  by  a  few  faith- 
ful attendants,  she  had  stolen  away  from  Sicily, 
which  her  hatred  of  the  British  domination  made 
her  consider  as  a  prison.  So  fearful  was  she  of  be- 
ing arrested  by  one  or  other  of  the  English  vessels 
crowding  the  harbors  of  Malta  and  the  Adriatic,  that 
she  hastened  through  the  Archipelago  and  never 
stopped  until  she  reached  Constantinople.  After 
resting  there  a  few  days,  she  crossed  the  Bosphorus, 
entered  the  Black  Sea,  and  landed  at  Odessa  after  a 
long  and  perilous  voyage.  From  there  she  went  to 
Vienna,  proposing  to  employ  every  means  in  her 
power  to  dethrone  Murat  and  repossess  herself  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Naples. 

Queen  Marie  Caroline  installed  herself  in  the  little 
castle  of  Hetzendorf,  which  communicated  by  an 
avenue  with  the  park  of  Schoenbrunn.  She  saw 
Marie  Louise  and  the  little  King  of  Rome,  her  great- 
grandchild, constantly.  Not  only  did  she  show  ex- 
treme affection  for  them  both,  but  she  was  very 
gracious  to  all  the  French  who  made  part  of  the 
household  of  Marie  Louise.  Baron  de  Meneval  says 
of  Marie  Caroline :  "  This  Princess,  who  had  been 
Napoleon's  declared   enemy  during   the   time   of  his 


QUEEN  MARIE  CAROLINE.  27 

prosperity,  and  whose  opinion  could  not  be  suspected 
of  partiality,  professed  a  high  esteem  for  his  great 
qualities.  Learning  that  I  had  been  his  secretary, 
she  sought  occasions  to  talk  with  me  about  him. 
She  said  he  had  formerly  given  her  great  reason  to 
complain ;  that  he  had  wounded  her  pride  ('  for  I 
was  fifteen  years  younger,  then,'  she  added)  ;  but 
that  now,  since  he  was  unfortunate,  she  had  forgot- 
ten all.  She  could  not  restrain  her  indignation  at 
the  manoeuvres  by  which  they  were  trying  to  detach 
her  grandchild  from  the  ties  which  were  her  glory, 
and  thus  deprive  the  Emperor  of  the  sweetest  conso- 
lation he  could  receive  after  the  immense  sacrifices 
exacted  from  his  pride.  She  added  that  if  their  re- 
union was  forbidden,  Marie  Louise  should  tie  her 
sheets  to  the  window  and  escape  in  disguise.  'That 
is  what  I  would  do  in  her  place,'  said  she;  'for  when 
one  is  married,  it  is  for  life.'" 

After  quoting  these  words,  M.  de  Meneval  goes  on 
to  say:  "  But  such  a  bold  act,  which  would  have  had 
an  attraction  for  the  daring  spirit  of  the  old  Queen, 
agreed  neither  with  the  character  of  Marie  Louise, 
nor  with  her  ideas  of  decorum.  Besides,  she  had 
begun  to  be  pleased  with  the  thought  of  going  pres- 
ently to  Parma,  where  she  would  be  her  own  mis- 
tress and  free  to  go  and  come  as  she  chose."  At 
this  time,  however,  she  was  not  yet  under  the  influ- 
ence of  Count  Xeipperg;  and  as  she  had  not  given 
up  the  idea  of  going  to  visit  Napoleon  now  and  then 
at  Elba,  she  listened  with  a  certain  sympathy  to  the 


28  ELBA,  AND   THE  HUNDRED  DATS. 

counsels    of    her   grandmother   concerning   conjugal 
fidelity. 

Baron  de  Bausset  observes  that  there  was  at  this 
moment  a  likeness  between  the  positions  of  these 
two  dethroned  sovereigns,  one  of  whom  was  claim- 
ing the  Duchy  of  Parma  and  the  other  the  Kingdom 
of  Naples.  More  vivacious  and  ardent  than  her 
granddaughter,  Marie  Caroline  seemed  greatly  irri- 
tated by  the  legal  obstructions  put  in  her  way  by  all 
the  Powers,  not  excepting  Austria.  "  I  do  not  know," 
adds  M.  de  Bausset,  "whether  to  attribute  the  fact  to 
her  vexation  at  the  circumspect  Austrian  diplomacy, 
or  simply  to  her  natural  politeness  and  the  sympathy 
she  thought  it  her  duty  to  feel  for  the  innocent  victim 
of  a  greater  political  convulsion  than  that  of  which 
she  complained  and  which  she  had,  in  fact,  provoked. 
In  any  case,  it  is  certain  that  she  had  sufficient 
greatness  of  soul  to  appreciate  the  fidelity  and  devo- 
tion of  those  who  had  followed  the  fortunes  of  her 
granddaughter.  Even  in  speaking  of  Napoleon, 
though  she  did  so  with  the  frankness  of  an  enemy, 
yet  it  was  that  of  an  enemy  not  blind  to  his  great 
qualities.  Convinced  by  all  the  Empress  said,  that 
the  Emperor  had  always  treated  her  with  the  utmost 
kindness,  and  that  she  had  been  overwhelmed  with 
the  most  touching  and  tender  solicitude,  the  Queen 
of  Sicily  prevailed  on  her  to  wear  again  a  portrait  of 
Napoleon  which  her  timidity  had  caused  her  to  hide 
away  in  a  jewel-case.  Nor  did  she  fail  to  be  most 
amiable  and  caressing  to  the  young  Napoleon,  though 


QUEEN  MARIE  CAROLINE.  29 

he  was  her  enemy's  son."  M.  de  Bausset  says  very 
justly  that  such  conduct  displayed  as  much  intelli 
gence  as  delicacy. 

Marie  Louise  and  her  grandmother,  Queen  Marie 
Caroline,  were  together  only  a  few  weeks.  The 
Empress  went  to  Aix,  in  Savoy,  June  29,  1814,  to 
take  the  baths.  They  were  never  to  meet  again. 
On  September  7  the  old  Queen  went  to  bed,  feeling 
very  well.  Two  hours  later  she  was  found  dead, 
with  her  right  hand  extended  to  the  bell-rope  she 
had  been  unable  to  reach,  and  her  mouth  half-open, 
as  if  she  had  vainly  tried  to  call  for  assistance.  A 
stroke  of  apoplexy  had  put  a  sudden  term  to  her 
troubled  career. 

Baron  de  La  Tour-du-Pin,  then  the  French  Minis- 
ter at  Vienna,  communicated  the  news  to  Prince 
Talleyrand  in  a  despatch  dated  September  8,  1814 : 
"I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  the  Queen  of 
Naples  had  an  attack  of  apoplexy  during  the  night, 
which  carried  her  oif  instantly.  The  Princess  had 
never  been  in  better  health.  That  verv  morning' 
Count  de  Preville,  formerly  an  officer  of  the  French 
navy,  and  now  attached  to  that  of  the  King  of  the 
Two  Sicilies,  had  arrived  here  from  Parma.  lie 
brought  news  from  the  King  which  fully  satisfied 
the  Queen.  She  approved  the  applications  he  had 
made  to  the  Austrian  court.  The  Queen  kept  M.  de 
Preville  with  her  all  day,  and  chatted  about  Sicily 
and  all  her  affairs  with  her  usual  vivacity.  She  sent 
him  away  at  ten  o'clock,  and  went  to  bed;  at  mid- 


30  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

night,  the  maid  who  slept  near  her,  hearing  a  slight 
movement,  asked  if  she  needed  anything,  and,  receiv- 
ing no  answer,  she  rose,  and  found  that  the  Queen 
was  already  dead." 

She  was  buried  at  Vienna,  with  great  pomp.  Baron 
de  La  Tour-du-Pin  wrote  to  Prince  Talleyrand,  Sep- 
tember 14,  1814 :  "  The  obsequies  of  the  Queen  of 
Naples  took  place  on  the  10th;  the  Mass  was  cele- 
brated on  the  12th.  The  whole  imperial  family 
assisted  at  it,  with  the  exception  of  the  Empress. 
The  Diplomatic  Corps  was  not  invited,  as  it  is  not 
customary.  I  thought,  however,  that  the  French 
Minister  could  hardly  allow  this  circumstance  to 
interfere  with  his  giving  some  more  particular  mark 
of  interest  than  was  due  from  others,  and  I  was 
present  at  the  funeral.  It  seemed  to  me  that  they 
were  pleased  with  this  attention.  Prince  Leopold's 
sorrow  lias  been  most  touching  to  everybody.  On 
the  day  of  his  mother's  death  he  sent  a  messenger 
to  Madame  the  Duchess  of  Orleans  [Marie  Ame'lie, 
daughter  of  Marie  Caroline  and  wife  of  Louis  Phi- 
lippe], by  whom  the  news  was  doubtless  carried 
more  quickly  than  by  the  one  I  sent  Your  Highness.1' 

Marie  Louise  heard  of  her  grandmother's  death 
with  great  pain.  In  spite  of  the  short  time  they  had 
spent  together,  her  sorrow  Avas  deep  and  keen.  With 
Marie  Caroline  disappeared  one  of  the  most  singular 
ligures  of  the  century. 


IV. 


MARIE   LOUISE   AT    AIX   IN    SAVOY. 

MARIE  LOUISE  left  Schoenbrunn,  June  29, 
1814,  to  take  the  baths  at  Aix  in  Savoy.  She 
had  found  it  somewhat  difficult  to  obtain  her  father's 
permission  to  undertake  a  journey  which  must  have 
appeared  strange.  In  1814  Savoy  still  belonged  to 
France,  and  the  former  Empress  of  the  French  was 
going  to  live  simply  as  a  private  person  in  a  town 
whose  sovereign  she  had  been  only  three  months 
before.  Napoleon  felt  strongly  the  singularity  of 
this  proceeding.  General  Bertrand  wrote  to  M.  de 
Mdneval  from  Porto-Ferrajo,  July  3,  1814:  "If  the 
Empress  has  waited  at  Vienna  for  an  answer  to  her 
letter,  the  Emperor  desires  that  she  should  not  go 
to  Aix;  if  she  is  already  there,  that  she  should  not 
remain  more  than  one  season,  and  that  she  should 
return  as  soon  as  may  be  to  Tuscany,  where  there 
are  baths  which  have  the  same  properties  as  those  of 
Aix.  They  are  nearer  to  us  and  to  Parma,  and  the 
Empress  could  have  her  son  there  with  her.  When 
AT.  Corvisart  recommended  the  waters  of  Aix,  he 
was  reasoning  as  if   the  Emperor  and  she  were  still 

31 


82  ELBA,   AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

at  Paris ;  besides,  he  knew  nothing  of  these  Tuscan 
baths,  which  have  similar  qualities.  Her  going  to 
Aix  displeases  the  Emperor  all  the  more  because 
there  are  probably  no  Austrian  troops  there  now, 
and  she  may  be  exposed  to  insults  from  adventurers. 
Moreover,  it  will  doubtless  be  disagreeable  to  the 
sovereigns  of  the  country  to  have  her  so  near.  There 
would  be  no  such  inconveniences  in  Tuscany." 

But  Marie  Louise  had  taken  good  care  not  to  wait 
for  her  husband's  permission  to  start.  She  was  deter- 
mined to  go  to  Aix,  whose  waters  she  deemed  indis- 
pensable to  her  health,  and  where  she  expected  to 
meet  the  Duchess  of  Montebello,  whom  she  then 
considered  her  dearest  friend.  She  left  her  son  at 
Schoenbrunn,  in  charge  of  the  Countess  of  Montes- 
quiou,  and  started  in  company  with  the  Baron  of 
Meneval  and  the  Countess  of  Brignole.  She  travelled 
as  the  Countess  of  Colorno,  which  was  the  name  of 
one  of  her  chateaux  in  the  Duchy  of  Parma.  When 
she  passed  through  Munich  she  found  Prince  Eugene 
do  Beauharnais  and  his  wife  at  the  station,  and  went 
to  supper  with  them  and  the  Princess  Royal  of  Wiir- 
temberg,  destined  soon  to  become  the  fourth  wife  of 
the  Austrian  Emperor. 

On  the  10th  of  July  Marie  Louise  reached  the  inn 
of  Secheron,  close  to  Geneva.  There  she  was  met  by 
her  brother-in-law,  King  Joseph,  who  lived  in  the 
Villa  Prangins  on  the  shore  of  the  lake,  and  who 
gave  her  a  hearty  welcome.  As  she  seemed  to  regret 
not  having  ordered  saddle-horses  to  be  provided  for 


MARIE  LOUISE  AT  ATX  IN   SAVOY.  33 

her  while  at  Aix,  Joseph  offered  one  of  his  own  which 
was  suitable,  and  she  rode  no  other  during  her  journey. 
She  made  an  excursion  to  Chamouni  and  the 
environs  of  Geneva  which  lasted  six  days,  and  on 
July  IT  arrived  at  Aix  in  Savoy.  Just  as  she 
was  about  to  enter  the  town  she  met  a  man  on 
horseback  and  wearing  the  uniform  of  an  Austrian 
general,  who  bowed  profoundly  and  then  turned  to 
escort  her.  Doubtless,  she  would  have  been  greatly 
surprised  had  any  one  then  predicted  to  her  the 
part  this  man  was  to  play  in  her  existence.  lie 
was  forty-two  —  twenty  years  older  than  she.  He  had 
but  one  eye  ;  a  black  bandage  hid  the  deep  scar  of 
the  wound  which  had  deprived  him  of  the  other.  At 
the  first  glance  his  aspect  was  anything  rather  than 
seductive.  It  was  General  Count  Xeipperg,  who  had 
acted  as  chamberlain  to  Marie  Louise  during  her  stay 
at  Prague  in  1812,  shortly  after  the  conference  at 
Dresden.  She  had  not  noticed  him  then,  and  had 
never  seen  him  since.  The  singular  attachment  she 
was  to  feel  for  him  was  by  no  means  a  case  of  love  at 
first  sight.  The  wily  diplomatist  had  neither  the 
beauty,  the  youth,  nor  the  prestige  which  conquer 
without  an  effort.  M.  de  Meneval  declares  that  when 
she  met  him  before  Aix  she  found  him  uncongenial. 
"•  His  appearance,"  says  he,  ''gave  her  a  disagreeable 
impression,  which  she  did  not  try  to  hide.  Was  it 
the  instinct  of  a  heart  honest  but  distrustful  of  itself 
which  revealed  him  as  her  evil  genius,  and  secretly 
warned  her  against  yielding  to  his  designs?" 


34  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

At  this  time  Marie  Louise  had  not  yet  broken  all 
the  ties  which  united  her  to  her  husband.  She  still 
wrote  to  him.  Her  household  was  composed  of 
ardent  Bonapartists  like  M.  de  Bausset  and  M.  de 
Meneval.  She  had  left  her  son  under  the  care  of  a 
Frenchwoman,  the  Countess  of  Montesquiou,  whose 
admiration  for  the  Emperor  was  profound.  She  had 
invited  a  widow  of  a  marshal  of  France,  the  Duchess 
of  Montebello,  to  stay  with  her.  Her  maid  of  honor 
was  the  Countess  of  Brignole,  a  noble  lady  not  less 
devoted  to  Napoleon  than  the  Countess  of  Montes- 
quiou. 

With  the  exception  of  General  Neipperg,  all  those 
who  approached  her  during  her  stay  at  Aix,  —  Isabey, 
who  painted  her  portrait ;  Talma,  who  recited  verses 
to  her ;  Baron  Corvisart,  who  was  her  physician ; 
Baron  de  Bausset  and  Count  de  Cussy,  who  acted 
by  turns  as  chamberlain,  —  all  were  imperialists  who 
still  cherished  an  actual  veneration  for  Napoleon. 
Her  servants  were  French,  both  men  and  women. 
Her  coachmen  and  footmen  still  wore  the  imperial 
livery,  and  the  arms  of  France  were  painted  on  the 
panels  of  her  carriages  and  engraved  upon  her  silver. 
Nevertheless,  the  Bourbons  must  have  believed  her 
very  unlikely  to  aid  seriously  her  husband's  cause, 
or  her  residence  in  a  French  watering-place  would 
not  have  troubled  them  so  little. 

And  yet  Marie  Louise  was  on  all  sides  surrounded 
by  souvenirs  of  the  Empire.  The  house  she  lived  in, 
situated  on  a  little  Hill  above  Aix,  was  that  which 


MARIE  LOUISE  AT  AIX  IN   SAVOY.  35 

Queen  Horteuse  had  occupied.  This  pretty  town, 
so  picturesque  and  poetic  in  its  situation  and  the 
beauty  of  its  environs,  has  had  the  privilege  of  con- 
soling dispossessed  sovereigns.  Josephine,  deprived 
of  the  crowns  of  France  and  Italy,  and  Hortense,  de- 
prived of  that  of  Holland,  appointed  a  meeting  there 
in  1810.  When  one  goes  there  first,  the  sombre  moun- 
tains which  rise  like  the  citadels  of  God,  and  tower 
above  the  clouds  floating  about  their  summits,  awaken 
a  sentiment  which  is  almost  awe.  But  one  soon 
learns  to  love  these  mountains,  whose  air  is  so  pure, 
so  vivifying,  and  that  beautiful  Lake  Bourget,  which 
sparkles  or  pales  according  to  the  clouds  and  the  time 
of  day.  Marie  Louise  loved  to  go  boating  on  it,  and 
to  visit  the  abbey  of  Haute-Combe  on  its  shore,  where 
the  princes  of  the  house  of  Savoy  are  buried.  Its 
sepulchral  silence,  interrupted  only  by  the  monoto- 
nous chant  of  white-robed  monks,  is  well  calculated 
to  inspire  Christian  reflections  on  the  nothingness 
and  inanity  of  worldly  grandeur. 

Marie  Louise  was  very  sad  during  the  early  days  of 
her  stay  at  Aix.  A  real  warfare  had  begun  within  her 
soul  between  her  two  countries,  Austria  and  France  ; 
she  understood  the  false  position  she  was  in,  and 
suffered  in  silence,  for  her  perplexities  were  not  un- 
mingled  with  remorse.  Her  love  for  Count  Neipperg 
had  not  yet  begun.  His  audiences  with  her  were 
purely  official,  and  she  did  not  suspect  that  he  would 
one  day  take  the  place  beside  her  which  belonged  to 
the    Emperor  Napoleon.      M.   de   Meneval   had   left 


30  ELBA,  AND   THE  HUNDRED  DATS. 

her,  July  19,  to  pay  his  wife  a  visit  of  several  weeks ; 
but  she  kept  up  a  close  correspondence  with  him, 
and  her  letters  show  both  the  tumult  in  her  soul  and 
the  confidence  she  continued  to  repose  in  one  of  the 
most  faithful  of  her  husband's  adherents. 

"  I  shall  never  succeed  in  persuading  myself  to 
return  to  Vienna  until  the  sovereigns  have  departed," 
she  wrote  to  M.  de  Meneval,  August  9,  1814 ;  "  and 
I  will  put  off  seeing  my  son  until  then.  I  shall 
remain  at  Geneva  or  in  Parma  until  the  Congress; 
for  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  stay  here  after  the 
season  of  the  baths  is  ended.  I  beg  you  to  assist  my 
determination  by  your  counsel.  Do  not  fear  to  tell 
me  the  truth.  I  ask  advice  from  you  as  from  a 
friend,  and  I  hope  you  will  give  it  to  me  frankly.  I 
have  just  received  a  letter  from  the  Emperor,  dated 
July  4.  He  begs  me  not  to  go  to  Aix,  but  to  take 
some  baths  in  Tuscany.  I  have  written  to  my  father 
about  it.  You  know  how  much  I  desire  to  please 
the  Emperor ;  but,  in  this  case,  ought  I  to  do  so  if 
his  wishes  do  not  agree  with  the  intentions  of  my 
father?" 

Her  letter  terminated  thus :  "  I  send  you  a  letter 
from  Porto-Ferrajo.  I  was  greatly  tempted  to  open 
it ;  it  might  have  given  me  some  details.  If  there 
are  any,  I  beg  you  to  let  me  know.  I  thank  you 
much  for  those  you  sent;  I  needed  them;  I  have 
had  none  for  so  long.  On  the  whole,  I  am  in  a  very 
unhappy  and  critical  condition ;  it  is  very  essential 
for  me  to   be   prudent   in  my  conduct.     There  are 


MARIE  LOUISE  AT  AIX  IN   SAVOY.  37 

moments  when  everything  seems  so  strangely  un- 
settled that  I  think  the  best  thing  I  could  do  would 
be  to  die.  .  .  .  My  health  is  good  enough.  I  am  at 
my  tenth  bath.  They  would  be  beneficial  if  my 
mind  were  easy,  but  I  cannot  be  contented  until  I 
have  erot  out  of  this  miserable  state  of  uncertainty. 
I  rejoice  to  think  that  you  will  soon  be  here  to  talk 
reasonably  to  me,  and  to  quiet  my  poor  head."  In  a 
postscript  the  Empress  added:  "  My  son  is  wonder- 
fully well,  so  they  write  me,  and  becomes  every 
day  more  charming.  The  days  are  long  until  I  can 
see  the  poor  child  again." 

The  15th  of  August  came  around  to  renew  all  the 
sorrows  of  the  dethroned  sovereign.  She  must  have 
had  some  tender  memories  of  both  her  husband  and 
her  son  on  that  day,  for  it  was  the  feast  of  each.  To 
quote  Victor  Hugo:  — 

"  All  drifts  and  passes  with  the  sea, 
World-masters,  kings  that  cradled  be, 
Bald  front,  fair  locks  of  infancy, 

Great  and  little  Napoleon  ; 
All  vanish  and  themselves  efface, 
Surge  upon  surge  rolls  hack  apace, 
Forgetting  all,  the  billows  pass, 

Leviathan  like  Alcyon." 

Marie  Louise  also  was  going  to  forget ;  but  on  this 
day  she  had  not  yet  forgotten.  What  a  difference 
between  those  two  dates:  August  15.  1813  —  August 
15.  1814!  What  changes  in  one  year!  At  this  time 
last   year,    France,    exulting    over    the    victories    of 


38  ELBA,    AND    THE  HUNBHEB  BAYS. 


Lutzen  and  Bautzen,  was  expecting  a  speedy  and 
glorious  peace.  Regent  of  the  great  Empire,  Marie 
Louise,  seated  on  her  throne  in  the  Tuileries,  the 
imperial  mantle  on  her  shoulders,  her  head  encircled 
with  the  most  brilliant  of  the  crown  diamonds,  had 
received  the  high  officials  who  came  to  offer  their 
homage  and  good  wishes.  Afterwards,  she  had  as- 
sisted at  a  Solemn  High  Mass  and  a  Te  Deum  in  the 
castle  chapel.  In  the  evening  she  had  been  received 
with  cries  of  joy  and  enthusiastic  acclamations  when 
she  made  her  appearance  on  the  balcony  of  the  Hall 
of  the  Marshals,  to  listen  to  the  concert  given  on  the 
terrace,  and  see  the  fireworks  go  up  from  the  Place 
de  la  Concorde.  What  a  difference  on  August  15, 
1814 !  Instead  of  the  great  illuminated  capital,  an 
obscure  little  town ;  instead  of  a  numerous  crowd  of 
courtiers,  a  handful  of  attendants ;  instead  of  the 
Palace  of  the  Tuileries,  a  humble  white  house ;  in- 
stead of  the  title  of  Empress  of  the  French  and 
Queen  of  Italy,  that  of  the  Duchess  of  Colorno ; 
instead  of  the  regency  of  a  vast  empire,  the  posses- 
sion, or,  more  truly,  the  hope  of  an  Italian  duchy ; 
instead  of  the  King  of  Home  for  a  son,  a  poor  child, 
of  whom  it  was  hardly  known  whether  he  would  even 
obtain  the  right  to  be  called  the  Prince  of  Parma. 

The  former  Empress  may  never  have  been  ambi- 
tious, but  such  contrasts  could  not  fail  to  cast  over 
her  a  sombre  and  melancholy  veil.  For  her  the  day 
was  one  of  sadness,  not  of  joy.  She  wrote  on  that 
date  to  M.  de  Medieval:    "I  have  not  yet  received 


MARIE  LOUISE  AT  AIX  IN   SAVOY.  39 

an  answer  from  my  father  to  the  letter  I  spoke  of  in 
my  last.  This  time  of  uncertainty  appears  to  me 
very  cruel  and  very  long.  I  await  his  reply  with 
much  impatience,  and  I  will  let  you  know  the  moment 
it  arrives.  A  sad  presentiment  warns  me  that  it  will 
contain  nothing  pleasant;  but  this  is  one  of  my 
gloomy  days.  How  can  I  be  gay  on  this  feast  day, 
when  I  am  obliged  to  spend  it  so  far  from  the  two 
persons  who  are  dearest  to  me?  Pardon  these  sad 
reflections ;  but  the  friendship  you  have  always 
shown  me  gives  me  courage  to  make  them,  provid- 
ing you  will  tell  me  when  I  weary  you.  I  beg  you 
to  believe  in  my  sincere  friendship.  Your  affectionate 
Louise.'' 

In  a  postscript  Marie  Louise  refers  to  her  disap- 
pointment in  the  matter  of  Parma.  Count  Mare- 
scalchi,  formerly  the  Italian  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  an  honorable  man  and  well  known  as  a 
sympathizer  with  France,  had  at  first  been  charged 
with  organizing  the  administration  of  the  duchy,  but 
the  Austrian  Cabinet  had  revoked  his  appointment. 
"M.  de  Marescalchi,"  wrote  Marie  Louise,  "is  simply 
the  Austrian  Minister  at  my  court  now;  my  father 
h;is  appointed  M.  de  San  Yitale  my  grand-chamber- 
lain, and  without  consulting  me.  This  pains  and 
exasperates  me.  M.  Magawly  said  at  Parma  that 
my  father  had  summoned  M.  de  San  Yitale  to  Vienna 
in  order  to  perform  his  functions  near  me,  and  that 
I  would  be  expected  to  go  there  and  remain  during 
the   entire    Congress.      What    a   dreary   prospect!      I 


40  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

have  a  mind  to  ask  him  if  I  may  pass  the  winter  in 
Florence,  providing  that  I  promise  not  to  communi- 
cate with  the  Emperor  except  through  the  Grand 
Duke,  but  I  feel  almost  sure  he  would  refuse.  What 
I  am  determined  on  is  not  to  go  to  Vienna  while  the 
sovereigns  are  there.  Advise  me,  I  pray  you;  I 
assure  you  I  am  greatly  to  be  pitied." 

Throughout  this  entire  day  her  mind  continually 
reverted  to  M.  de  Mdneval.  In  the  evening  she  wrote 
again,  to  apprise  him  that  she  had  just  received  a 
letter  from  Prince  Metternich  in  which  he  enjoined 
her,  in  the  name  of  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  not  to 
go  to  Parma.  In  this  epistle  she  deplores  her  fate  as 
she  had  done  in  the  preceding  one :  "  The  Duchess 
of  Montebello  will  tell  you  many  things  I  cannot 
write  about.  I  am  sad,  but  resigned.  To-morrow  will 
give  me  the  most  painful  blow,  for  then  I  must  bid 
her  adieu.  But  I  will  not  complain ;  I  must  accustom 
myself  to  all  sorts  of  trouble.  What  consoles  me  is 
the  thought  that  there  are  still  some  kind  souls  who 
pity  me,  and  I  remember  with  pleasure  that  you  are 
among  the  number." 

Marie  Louise  no  longer  found  it  agreeable  to  re- 
main at  Aix  when  the  Duchess  of  Montebello  had 
departed.  There  was,  in  fact,  no  reason  Avhy  she 
should  prolong  her  stay,  since  her  health  was  re-es- 
tablished. Moreover,  although  her  conduct  had  been 
scrupulously  prudent,  yet  the  government  of  Louis 
XVI II.  was  beginning  to  be  uneasy  about  her  pres- 
ence in  a  French  town.     Prince  Talleyrand  had  writ- 


MARIE  LOUISE  AT  AIX  IN   SAVOY.  41 

ten,  August  9,  1814,  to  Prince  Metternich:  "When 
you  were  in  Paris  last,  my  dear  Prince,  you  told 
the  King  you  did  not  approve  of  the  journey  which 
Madame  the  Archduchess  Marie  Louise  had  made  to 
the  baths  of  Aix.  From  the  moment  that  the  waters 
became  useful  to  her  health,  the  King  would  have 
closed  his  eyes  to  the  inconveniences  of  this  journey 
if  he  saw  any.  But  you,  my  dear  Prince,  thought  it 
might  give  occasion,  not  to  intrigues,  but  to  a  good 
deal  of  gossip.  You  know  what  the  tattle  of  a  water- 
ing-place amounts  to,  and  what  mischief  these  idle 
babblers  may  bring  about.  A  few  rattle-pates  go  far 
enough  to  compromise  themselves,  and  it  is  just  this 
which  it  is  necessary  to  avoid.  Joseph  Bonaparte, 
who  is  near  Aix,  has  committed  follies  which  he  would 
not  have  dreamed  of  but  for  her  being  there.  All 
this  is  of  very  small  importance,  and  the  King  attaches 
none  to  it;  but  rumors  of  it  have  reached  Paris,  and 
give  occasion  for  random  talk,  to  the  Diplomatic  Corps 
as  well  as  to  everybody  else.  People  fancy  they  dis- 
cover grave  and  secret  intrigues  at  the  bottom  of 
things  which  are  perfectly  natural  and  simple.  1 
fancy,  my  dear  Prince,  that  since  the  season  of  the 
baths  is  over  for  Madame  the  Archduchess,  it  may 
suit  both  you  and  us  if  her  stay  at  Aix  should  not 
be  further  prolonged.  Do  not  misunderstand,  how- 
ever, the  motives  which  induce  me  to  make  this  sug- 
gestion. Adieu,  my  dear  Prince;  preserve  a  kindly 
regard  for  me,  and  believe  in  my  sincere  attachment 
for  yourself/' 


42  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUN  DEED  DATS. 

Marie  Louise  might  have  wished  to  remain  longer 
at  Aix,  but  she  would  not  have  been  permitted  to  do 
so.  However,  she  still  thought  about  her  husband. 
August  20,  she  wrote  to  the  Baron  of  Me"neval :  "  I 
have  news  from  the  Emperor  dated  August  6.  He 
is  in  good  health,  happy  and  tranquil,  and  thinks 
much  about  me  and  his  son."  But  the  time  was 
approaching  when  the  influence  of  Count  Neipperg, 
who  was  gradually  insinuating  himself  into  her  good 
graces,  should  detach  her  forever  from  Napoleon. 
She  left  Aix  early  in  September,  and  before  return- 
ing to  Vienna  she  made  an  excursion  into  Switzer- 
land, where  Count  Neipperg  acted  as  her  guide. 

As  to  the  sovereign  of  Elba,  he  already  had  fore- 
bodings that  he  would  never  again  see  either  wife  or 
son.  A  few  weeks  earlier  he  had  still  hoped  for 
a  reunion,  which  he  desired  above  all  things.  He 
wrote  to  Count  Bertrand  from  Porto-Ferrajo,  July  27, 
1814 :  "  I  have  decided  to  go  to  Marciana  on  Au- 
gust 1.  My  house  must  be  built  during  my  absence, 
so  that  when  the  Empress  comes  it  shall  be  ready  for 
her."  By  August  9  his  hopes  had  begun  to  weaken. 
Doubt  is  to  be  read  between  the  lines  of  the  letter  he 
wrote  that  day  to  his  Grand  Marshal  of  the  Palace : 
"  M.  le  Comte  de  Bertrand,  Colonel  Laczinski,  who 
starts  to-day  at  two  o'clock  for  Livorno,  will  go  from 
there  to  Aix,  bearing  a  letter  from  me  to  the  Empress. 
Write  to  Mdneval  that  I  expect  the  Empress  by  the 
end  of  August;  that  I  want  her  to  fetch  my  son, 
and  think  it  strange  to  receive  no  word    from   her, 


MARIE  LOUISE  AT  A1X  IN   SAVOY.  43 


doubtless  because  her  letters  have  been  intercepted. 
This  absurd  performance  is  probably  the  work  of 
some  petty  official;  it  cannot  be  that  of  her  father. 
In  any  case,  no  one  has  any  rights  over  the  Empress 
and  her  son." 

The  people  of  Elba,  however,  believed  firmly  in  the 
speedy  arrival  of  the  Empress  and  the  King  of  Rome. 
Chateaubriand  remarks  in  his  Memoires  d'outre- 
tombe:  "Every  one  expected  to  see  Marie  Louise 
and  her  son  very  soon.  In  reality,  a  woman  with  a 
child  did  appear.  Great  mystery  surrounded  her 
reception,  ami  she  went  to  stay  in  a  lonely  cottage 
in  the  remotest  part  of  the  island.  On  the  shore 
of  Ogygie  Calypso  told  her  love  to  Ulysses,  who, 
instead  of  listening,  thought  only  of  defending 
himself  against  her  advances.  After  two  days  of 
repose  the  swan  of  the  north  took  her  flight  again 
toward  the  myrtles  of  Baia?."  This  mysterious  wo- 
man was  the  Countess  Walewska,  the  beautiful  Pole 
win)  had  inspired  the  Emperor  with  such  a  passionate 
admiration  some  years  before.  Her  son,  born  March 
4,  1810,  was  nearly  the  same  age  as  the  King  of 
Rome. 

An  eye-witness  thus  relates  this  singular  incident 
of  Napoleon's  residence  at  Elba:  "On  the  1st  of  Sep- 
tember. 1814.  the  Emperor  spent  the  entire  day  on 
the  heights  of  Pomonte.  sweeping  the  sea  with  a  small 
telescope,  as  if  to  discover  and  recognize  all  vessels 
which  came  in  sight.  At  nightfall  he  re-entered  the 
Hermitnore  and  sent  an  orderlv  on  horseback  to  Porto- 


44  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

Ferrajo  to  provide  a  carriage  and  three  saddle-horses, 
which  were  to  wait  the  instructions  of  the  Grand 
Marshal  of  the  Palace,  in  the  road  leading  to  the 
Place  Saint-Jean.  At  about  ten  in  the  evening  the 
orderly  was  at  the  point  indicated  with  the  carriage 
and  the  horses.  It  was  a  fine  moonlight  night  and 
he  presently  saw  a  rowboat  approaching  the  jetty. 
Three  ladies  and  a  child  landed  from  it,  and  General 
Bertrand,  saluting  them  respectfully,  led  the  w  v 
the  carriage.  At  the  cross-roads  of  Prochia  they  met 
Napoleon  riding  a  white  horse  and  followed  by  a 
troop  of  lancers  and  Mamelukes.  The  carriage 
stopped,  and  the  Emperor  got  off  his  horse.  The 
right-hand  door  of  the  carriage  opened,  and  the  Em- 
peror entered  it  in  profound  silence.  r"he  p  ..  ^ 
set  off  again  and  did  not  stop  until  it  reached  the 
beach  of  Prochia,  where,  as  the  carri  —  cou1.  '  ^  no 
farther  on  account  of  the  bad  roads,  the  Emperor, 
the  ladies,  and  the  child  left  it  for  the  horses,  which 
had  been  led  by  the  orderly.  The  child  was  carried 
by  one  of  the  ladies,  and  the  orderly,  dismounting, 
led  her  horse  by  the  bridle.  When  thej  w^e  near 
the  Hermitage,  Napoleon  spurred  up  his  horse  and 
arrived  first  at  a  tent  which  had  been  pitched  under 
a  huge  chestnut.  A  few  minutes  later  the  lady  with 
the  child  came  up  and  entered  the  tent  also.  They 
remained  there  two  days  and  nights  without  being 
seen  by  any  one  else.  Napoleon  himself  came  out 
only  twice  to  give  some  orders.     During  this  time  all 


MARIE   LOUISE  AT  AIX  IN   SAVOY.  45 


persons  were  forbidden  access  to  the  hill,  even  Ma- 
dame Mere,  who  lodged  in  a  neighboring  village." 

Thus,  at  the  very  moment  when  Marie  Louise  was 
beginning  to  yield  to  Count  Neipperg's  influence, 
Napoleon,  despairing  of  seeing  her  at  Elba,  had  be- 
thought himself  of  the  Countess  AValewska. 


V. 


MARIE   LOUISE  IN   SWITZERLAND. 

THE  last  sparks  of  a  very  feeble  flame  are  about 
to  be  extinguished.  In  Switzerland  the  former 
Empress  of  the  French  is  already  less  attached  to 
Napoleon  than  she  had  been  at  Aix  in  Savoy.  The 
hour  is  near  when  he  will  be  as  a  stranger  to  her.  The 
influence  of  MM.  de  Medieval  and  de  Bausset  dimin- 
ishes as  that  of  Count  Neipperg  increases.  Marie 
Louise,  to  whom  the  thought  of  being  in  Vienna  at 
the  same  time  with  the  sovereigns  was  once  so  pain- 
ful, is  now  accustoming  herself  to  entertain  it.  Count 
Neipperg  never  leaves  her.  If  she  boldly  undertakes 
so  many  fatiguing,  not  to  say  dangerous,  excursions 
across  mountains  and  glaciers,  it  is  because  the  se- 
ducer is  at  her  side.  He  is  a  musician,  and  when 
she  sings,  he  plays  her  accompaniments.  He  is  an 
assiduous,  devoted,  obsequious  chamberlain  ;  perhaps 
he  is  already  a  lover.  He  will  presently  become  her 
factotum,  her  indispensable  attendant.  He  vaunts 
his  ability  to  solve  all  difficulties  and  smooth  away 
all  obstacles  which  lie  between  her  and  that  Duchy 
of  Parma  which  she  thinks  of  as  a  Promised  Land, 
40 


MARIE   LOUISE  IN   SWITZERLAND.  47 

Agent  and  confidant  of  Prince  Metternich,  lie  pur- 
sues with  address  and  perseverance  the  task  confided 
to  him  by  the  Austrian  oligarchy.  He  is  neither 
vouncr  nor  handsome,  but  there  is  something  alluring 
in  his  glance,  his  appearance,  and  his  conversation. 
His  uniform  as  general  of  hussars  becomes  him;  his 
manners  are  extremely  polished,  and  they  hide  his 
ardent  ambition  under  a  cloak  of  modest  simplicity. 
A  brave  soldier  and  a  skilful  diplomatist,  he  has  the 
good  taste  never  to  talk  about  himself,  although  he 
both  talks  and  writes  with  ease.  Marie  Louise  no 
longer  even  thinks  of  rejoining  her  husband  at  Elba. 
Perhaps  she  would  not  do  so  even  if  her  father  ac- 
corded his  permission.  Her  sole  ambition  is  to  reign 
in  Parma,  with  the  faithful  Xeipperg  as  her  minister. 
She  has  forgotten  France.  It  seems  as  if  she  had 
said  an  eternal  adieu  to  the  country  where  she  had 
reigned,  when  parting  from  the  Duchess  of  Monte- 
bello,  the  only  Frenchwoman  whom  she  had  loved. 

Marie  Louise  appreciated  the  beauties  of  nature, 
and  she  greatly  enjoyed  herself  in  Switzerland;  pos- 
sibly the  proximity  of  Count  Xeipperg,  who  acted  as 
guide,  helped  to  make;  her  find  that  land  so  charm- 
ing. September  0,  1814,  she  slept  at  Lausanne,  at 
Freiburg  the  10th,  and  at  Berne  on  the  11th.  Then 
she  visited  Grinwal,  Lauterburn,  and  the  Rigid,  with 
the  Countess  of  Brignole  and  General  Xeipperg  for 
sole  attendants.  k'  M.  de  Meneval  and  I,"  writes  the 
Baron  of  Bausset,  '"had  seen  snow  enough  in  Russia. 
We  were  not  particularly  anxious   to  wander  among 


48  ELBA,   AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

those  mountains  all  covered  with  it,"  So  these  two 
left  the  field  to  the  General,  who,  doubtless,  was  not 
sorry. 

September  20,  Marie  Louise  came  back  to  Berne. 
She  had  just  heard  of  the  death  of  her  grandmother, 
Queen  Marie  Caroline,  and  she  displayed  great  sor- 
row. For  two  days  she  shut  herself  up  in  her  apart- 
ments, but  on  September  22  she  made  an  excursion 
to  Ilofhill,  two  leagues  from  Berne.  On  returning, 
she  was  informed  of  the  arrival  of  the  Princess  of 
Wales,  whom  she  did  not  know,  but  who  desired  to 
meet  her.  This  Princess  was,  assuredly,  one  of  the 
most  curious  types  of  our.  modern  times.  Her  father 
was  Charles  William  Ferdinand,  Duke  of  Brunswick, 
a  bitter  enemy  of  the  French  Revolution,  the  author 
of  the  celebrated  manifesto  of  1792,  and  the  unsuc- 
cessful opponent  of  Dumouriez  and  Napoleon.  Caro- 
line was  born  in  1768,  and  in  1795  was  married  to 
the  Prince  of  Wales.  In  the  following  year  she 
became  the  mother  of  the  Princess  Charlotte,  who 
was  afterwards  the  wife  of  Leopold,  King  of  Bel- 
gium. Hardly  had  she  recovered  from  her  confine- 
ment when  her  husband  separated  from  her  on  the 
plea  of  incompatibility  of  temper.  Then  began  re- 
criminations and  scandals  which  resounded  through- 
out Europe,  and  never  ceased  until  the  death  of 
Caroline. 

Her  husband,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  whose  whole 
youth  had  been  turbulent,  and  who  had  many  things 
to  reproach  himself  with,  noisily  accused  his  wife  of 


MARIE  LOUISE  IN   SWITZERLAND.  49 

adultery;  claiming,  even,  that  she  had  concealed  a 
pregnancy.  In  1808,  her  father-in-law,  George  III., 
appointed  a  ministerial  commission  to  examine  these 
charges.  They  acquitted  her,  so  far  as  the  latter 
accusation  was  concerned,  declaring,  at  the  same 
time,  that  her  conduct  had  been  imprudent.  When 
George  III.  went  mad,  in  1811,  the  Prince  of  Wales 
became  Regent.  It  was  of  him  that  Louis  XVIII. 
said:  "After  (rod,  it  is  to  the  Prince-Regent  that  I 
owe  my  restoration." 

Caroline,  then,  was  daughter  of  one  man,  and  wife 
of  another,  of  those  who  were  most  bitterly  hostile 
to  Napoleon.  Nevertheless,  she  was  anxious  to  see 
Marie  Louise,  and  even  proposed  to  pay  a  visit  to 
Napoleon  himself,  at  Elba.  When  she  met  the 
former  Empress  of  the  French  at  Berne,  she  was 
beginning  a  long  journey.  After  passing  through 
Germany,  she  meant  to  visit  Italy,  Greece,  Syria,  and 
the  Holy  Land.  Caroline  was  witty  and  agreeable, 
and  she  spoke  French  admirably.  All  was  unusual 
about  her.  —  face,  figure,  dress,  and  conversation. 
She  wore  a  white  muslin  gown,  and  a  large  veil  of 
the  same  stuff,  which  covered  her  head,  breast,  and 
shoulders.  Above  this  was  a  diadem  consisting  of  a 
single  row  of  diamonds.  Her  costume  resembled  that 
of  an  ancient  Greek  priestess. 

In  the  morning  of  September  23  this  noble  but 
eccentric  traveller  had  her  first  interview  with  Marie 
Louise,  to  whom  she  showed  herself  extremely 
friendlv.     She    crave   her  all   manner   of   details  con- 


50  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

cerning  her  quarrel  with  her  husband,  and  the  an- 
noyances to  which  she  had  recently  been  subjected 
in  England.  "  Your  Majesty  will  hardly  believe," 
said  she,  "  that  I  was  not  permitted  to  attend  the 
Queen's  drawing-room  while  the  sovereigns  of  Russia 
and  Prussia  were  there,  because  my  husband  was 
unwilling  to  meet  me,  either  in  public  or  in  private. 
I  complained  to  the  Queen,  and  I  even  wrote  my 
husband  a  beautiful  letter,  in  which  I  signed  myself 
the  most  faithful  and  submissive  of  wives  [the 
Princess  smiled  maliciously  while  saying  these  last 
words]  ;  but  he  did  not  deign  to  answer  me.  How- 
ever, I  did  not  consider  myself  obliged  to  observe 
strict  seclusion  on  that  account.  I  went  to  every 
public  place  to  which  I  could  gain  admittance  by 
paying  my  way.  Once,  when  the  sovereigns  and  my 
husband  were  at  the  opera,  in  a  box  in  the  dress- 
circle,  I  was  discovered  at  the  back  of  another,  on 
the  second  tier,  where  I  had  gone  in  disguise.  The 
people  showed  their  good  will  toward  me  by  such 
stormy  applause,  that  these  august  spectators,  sup- 
posing it  impossible  that  so  much  homage  could  be 
addressed  to  any  one  but  themselves,  thought  it  in- 
cumbent on  them  to  rise  and  bow  to  the  audience.  I 
was  not  slow  in  seizing  this  chance  to  avenge  myself. 
Pretending,  in  my  turn,  to  consider  their  mistake  as 
an  intentional  aet  of  politeness  toward  me,  I  gravely 
made  them  three  sweeping  courtesies,  which  excited 
loud  and  ironical  applause." 

Caroline    spoke    afterwards    of    her   daughter,   the 


MARIE   LOUISE  IN   SWITZERLAND.  51 

Princess  Charlotte.  "  She  is  as  charming  and  clever 
as  one  can  possibly  be ;  but,"  she  added,  smiling, 
'•after  myself,  I  don"t  know  a  more  quarrelsome 
person." 

In  the  evening  the  Princess  of  Wales,  accompanied 
by  a  lady-of-honor,  two  chamberlains,  and  an  equerry, 
came  to  dine  witli  Marie  Louise,  who  had  returned 
her  visit  during  the  day.  The  dinner  was  very 
lively,  and  afterwards,  the  conversation  turning  on 
music,  the  Empress  invited  the  Princess  to  sing 
something.  '"Willingly,"  she  replied,  "providing 
that  it  shall  be  a  duet."  Marie  Louise  wished  to 
refuse,  under  the  plea  of  her  timidity,  which,  she 
said,  made  her  incapable  of  uttering  a  note  before 
listeners.  "  For  my  part,"  responded  the  Princess 
of  Wales,  "  I  have  never  been  afraid,  except  on 
account  of  my  friends."  Marie  Louise  finally  con- 
sented. Her  voice  was  a  soprano,  as  sweet  and 
pleasing  as  herself;  Caroline's,  on  the  contrary,  was 
a  full  and  strongly  accented  contralto,  which  accorded 
well  with  her  energetic  character.  They  sang  the 
duct  Ln  ci  tlarem  la  mano,  from  Mozart's  D<>n  Juan, 
Count  Neipperg  playing  the  accompaniment,  Marie 
Louise  taking  the  part  of  Zerlina,  and  Caroline  that 
of  Don  Juan.  Would  not  the  scene  be  a  tempting 
one  for  a  '/cure  painter? 

September  24,  tin;  Empress  slept  at  Zurich.  She 
visited  some  glaciers  in  the  neighborhood,  as  well  as 
the  ruined  castle  of  Hapsburg,  the  cradle  of  her 
ancestors.      Some    one    of    the    party    found    an    old 


52  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

scrap  of  iron  among  the  ruins,  and  Count  Neipperg 
pretended  to  recognize  in  it  a  fragment  of  Rudolph 
of  Hapsburg's  lance.  Marie  Louise  either  believed, 
or  professed  to  believe,  in  this  little  fraud,  and,  later 
on,  had  bits  of  the  chimerical  lance  set  in  gold  rings, 
which  she  gave  to  various  members  of  her  circle. 

She  went  on  to  Vienna  b}^  way  of  Saint-Gall, 
Constance,  Munich,  and  Braunau,  and  passed  the 
night  in  the  latter  city.  It  was  the  place  where,  on 
March  16,  1810,  the  house  of  Austria  had  formally 
committed  her  to  the  house  of  France.  That  day 
of  profound  emotions  lay  already  far  behind  her. 
The  Empire,  that  majestic  and  colossal  edifice,  which 
all  men  had  thought  indestructible,  had  disappeared. 
It  had  lasted  not  much  longer  than  the  frail  walls 
of  the  pavilion  where  the  young  Archduchess  had 
been  confided  to  her  new  country.  At  that  time  the 
same  ceremonies  had  been  observed  as  had  attended 
the  marriage  of  Marie  Antoinette.  Triumphal  arches 
had  spanned  the  roads  traversed  by  the  august  be- 
trothed. To  the  sound  of  bells,  the  roar  of  artillery, 
and  the  joyous  flourish  of  trumpets,  she  had  appeared 
before  the  dazzled  eyes  of  the  people  like  a  sort  of 
goddess,  illuminated  by  the  lustres  of  an  apotheo- 
sis. And  now,  at  the  end  of  four  years  and  a  half, 
she  was  again  at  Braunau,  alas,  under  what  different 
conditions  !  She  was  travelling  as  a  private  person, 
bearing  the  assumed  title  of  Duchess  of  Colonic 
Nothing  but  the  memory  of  those  distant  splendors 
was  left  to  her,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  even  that  mem- 


MARIE  LOUISE  IN   SWITZERLAND.  03 

ory  was  dear.  Soon  it  was  to  vanish  like  a  dream. 
Marie  Louise  returned  to  Schoenbrunn,  October  4, 
1814,  the  feast  of  Saint  Francis  of  Assisi,  and  the 
name-day  of  her  father.  From  that  moment  nothing 
that  was  French  remained  longer  in  her  Austrian 

BOul. 


VI. 


MARIE   LOUISE   DURING    THE   CONGRESS   OF   VIENNA. 

"  ~T~TTTIO  would  believe  that  the  lust  after  pa- 
V  V  geants,  the  bursts  of  applause  which  greet 
Moliere  and  Harlequin  at  the  theatres,  the  hunts  and 
banquets,  ballets  and  tournaments,  cover  so  many 
disquieting  cares  and  opposing  interests,  such  fears 
and  hopes,  such  ardent  passions,  and  such  serious 
affairs?" 

One  is  reminded  of  this  passage  from  La  Bruyere 
when  studying  the  history  of  that  Vienna  Congress, 
of  which  the  Prince  de  Eigne  said:  "The  Congress 
dances ;  it  does  not  walk."  The  sovereigns  made 
their  formal  entry  into  the  Austrian  capital  Sep- 
tember 20,  1814.  More  than  a  thousand  volleys  of 
cannon  greeted  them  from  the  ramparts.  A  contem- 
porary caricature  represents  the  Emperor  Alexander 
driving  a  two-seated  travelling-carriage,  with  the 
King  of  Prussia  as  footman,  and  the  Emperor  Napo- 
leon running  behind,  and  shouting  to  the  Emperor 
Francis,  "  Father-in-law !  father-in-law!  they  have 
put  me  out."  The  Austrian  Emperor,  who  occupies 
the  carriage,  looks  back,  and  answers,  "  And  me  in." 

The  presence  of  Marie  Louise  in  a  city  where  the 
54 


DUE  IN  G    THE  CONGRESS   OF   VIENNA.  55 


sovereigns  who  Lad  vanquished  and  detl ironed  her 
husband  were  reunited  was  singular  enough.  Five 
days  after  her  return  to  the  castle  of  Schoenbrunn, 
a  fete  was  given  there  which  all  the  monarchs  at- 
tended. There  were  drives  about  the  gardens  in 
open  carriages,  theatricals,  and  a  supper  in  the 
Orangery.  But  the  former  Empress  of  the  French 
remained  in  the  seclusion  of  her  own  apartments. 
On  November  9,  1814,  Baron  de  La  Tour-du-Pin, 
French  Minister  at  Vienna,  wrote  as  follows  to 
Count  de  Jaucourt,  who  acted  as  Minister  of  For- 
eign Affairs  during  the  absence  of  Prince  Talley- 
rand: uThe  Archduchess  Marie  Louise  is  never 
present  at  any  of  the  fetes  and  daily  reunions  which 
are  brought  about  by  circumstances.  But  she  comes 
every  day  to  see  her  father,  and  often  calls  on  the 
sovereigns  and  grand  duchesses  who  are  staving  at 
the  palace.  She  is  visited  in  return  at  Schoenbrunn, 
but  not  so  as  to  attract  too  much  attention.  Her 
toilet  seems  to  occupy  her  greatly,  and  no  week 
passes  without  her  receiving  gowns  and  bonnets  from 
Paris.  At  the  same  time,  melancholy  speeches  es- 
cape her  lips ;  she  plays  doleful  airs,  and  says  that 
she  was  made  for  sadness.  They  take  pains  to  let 
it  be  known  that  the  little  Bonaparte  has  remarka- 
ble intelligence,  and  he  is  so  trained  as  to  make  him 
pleasing  to  the  French,  and  especially  to  soldiers. 
It  appears  that  whenever  one  presents  himself,  or 
when  he  speaks  of  them,  he  is  expected  to  say 
gracious  and   kindly  things.      The   fetes  increase  in- 


56  ELBA,  AND   THE  HUN  DEED  BAYS. 

stead  of  diminishing.  Yesterday  M.  de  Metternich 
gave  one;  day  after  to-morrow  there  will  be  a  grand 
dress  rout,  and  on  the  16th  a  tournament  composed 
of  twenty-four  ladies  and  as  many  cavaliers." 

One  might  say  that  Marie  Louise  could  only  look 
through  the  keyhole  at  these  entertainments  where 
her  presence  was  forbidden.  In  her  father's  apart- 
ments at  the  Burg,  the  imperial  palace  of  Vienna, 
a  small  tribune  or  platform  had  been  so  placed  in 
a  corner  of  the  upper  gallery  surrounding  the  great 
hall  that  one  could  see  from  it  without  being  seen. 
It  was  the  same  great  hall  in  which  the  festivities 
of  her  marriage  had  taken  place  in  1810.  Hidden 
at  the  back  of  this  tribune  with  M.  de  Bausset  and 
Madame  de  Brignole,  what  reflections  the  dethroned 
sovereign  must  have  made !  She  had  seen  at  her 
own  knees  the  same  crowd  of  noble  lords  and  ladies 
who  now  paid  such  assiduous  court  to  the  princes  of 
the  Coalition.  How  humble  and  obsequious  all  these 
petty  potentates  of  the  Rhine  Confederation  had 
been  but  lately  before  the  great  Napoleon!  His 
wife  might  have  said,  with  the  author  of  the  Dieu 
des  bonnes  gens :  — 

"  A  conq'ror  in  his  lofty  hour  of  pride 
With  laws  and  sceptres  played  as  trifling  things ; 
The  dust  from  off  his  feet  men  saw 
Imprinted  on  the  coronets  of  Kings. 
You  crawled  then,  Kings,  whom  now  men  deify  !  " 

Who  was  the  princess  now  disputing  so  bitterly 
the  possession  of    the  duchies  of    Parma.  Piacenza. 


DURING    THE  CONGRESS  OF   VIENNA.  j)7 


and  Guastalla  with  Marie  Louise?  It  was  she  who 
had  been  ereated  Queen  of  Etruria  by  a  caprice  of 
the  First  Consul.  Tuscany  was  erected  into  the 
Kingdom  of  Etruria  by  the  Treaty  of  Luneville,  and 
given  to  Louis,  Infant  of  Parma;  and  in  May,  1801, 
before  taking  possession  of  his  states,  he  went  to  re- 
ceive investiture,  as  it  were,  from  Bonaparte.  He  was 
the  son  of  a  sister  of  Marie  Antoinette,  and  his  wife, 
who  accompanied  him,  was  the  daughter  of  Charles 
IV.  of  Spain.  It  was  only  seven  years  since  Marie 
Antoinette  had  lost  her  head  on  the  scaffold,  and  her 
nephew  in  going  to  Malmaison  to  pay  homage  to  the 
First  Consul  crossed  the  square  where  she  was  exe- 
cuted. At  the  TheYitre  Francois  they  played  (Edipe 
in  his  honor,  and  when  the  actor  who  took  the  part 
of  Philoctete  recited  the.  verse, 

"  I  have  made  sovereigns,  and  I  have  not  willed  to  be  one," 

the  audience  turned  toward  the  box  where  the  First 
Consul  was  sitting  with  his  royal  guest,  and  broke 
into  a  frenzy  of  applause  which  shook  the  theatre. 
Oil!  how  insignificant  this  kinglet  had  seemed  be- 
side the  man  of  Arcole,  the  Pyramids,  and  Marengo! 
A  few  days  later  the  new  King  and  Queen  departed 
for  Etruria,  where  they  were  installed  by  Murat. 
The  Queen  presently  opened  a  friendly  ami  grateful 
correspondence  with  Josephine,  by  whose;  graciouy 
reception  of  herself  and  her  husband  she  had  been 
charmed.  Assuredly,  the  all-powerful  First  Consul 
would  have  been  profoundly  surprised  had  any  seer 


58  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDliEB  DAYS. 

then  come  to  tell  him :  "  It  is  this  little  Queen  who 
will  one  day  seek  to  deprive  your  wife  and  son  of 
the  only  strip  of  land  remaining  to  them  after  all 
your  conquests  !  " 

Marie  Louise  was  present  at  the  general  rehearsal 
of  the  tournament,  which  took  place  in  the  Hall  of 
the  Manege.  This  hall  is  a  long  parallelogram,  ter- 
minating at  each  end  in  a  large  tribune.  One  of 
these  was  occupied  by  the  sovereigns,  and  the  other 
by  the  orchestra.  Opposite  the  monarchs,  in  a  tier 
of  boxes  placed  in  front  of  the  musicians,  were  se- 
dately ranged  the  twenty-four  ladies  of  the  twenty- 
four  knights  about  to  combat  in  the  lists.  All  of 
them  beautiful  and  full  of  animation,  they  were  clad 
in  red  velvet  robes  against  which  the  lustre  of  their 
jewels  sparkled  with  great  effect.  The  gems  worn 
by  Princess  Paul  Esterhazy,  born  Princess  de  la  Tour 
et  Taxis,  were  valued  at  more  than  six  millions  of 
francs.  The  fete  was  magnificent.  The  twenty-four 
knights,  in  splendid  costumes,  and  mounted  on  superb 
and  richly  caparisoned  palfreys,  entered  to  the  flourish 
of  trumpets.  Riding  forward,  they  made  their  rev- 
erence to  the  sovereigns  without  dismounting;  then, 
turning,  they  paid  a  similar  homage  to  the  ladies 
whose  colors  and  scarfs  they  wore.  They  tilted  at 
the  ring,  beat  down  helmets  which  had  been  placed 
upon  manikins,  and  handled  harmless  javelins  with 
precision.  The  tourney  ended,  each  cavalier  rejoined 
his  lady  and  conducted  her  to  the  banqueting-hall. 
From  the  feast  they  repaired  to  the  ball-room,  where 


DURING    THE   CONGRESS   OF   VIENNA.  59 

more  than  three  thousand  invited  guests  were  pres- 
ent. The  quadrilles,  which  had  been  arranged  before- 
hand, were  comprised  of  the  most  illustrious  and 
highly  born  men  and  women  in  all  Germany.  Con- 
cerning the  second  representation  of  the  tournament, 
Baron  de  La  Tour-du-Pin  wrote  on  November  30, 
1814,  to  Count  de  Jaucourt :  "This  fete  has  been 
perfectly  beautiful,  and  the  splendor  of  the  women 
lias  exceeded  anything  ever  seen.  One  might  more 
truly  say  that  they  were  clothed  with  diamonds  and 
precious  stones  than  that  they  were  adorned  with 
them.  The  ladies  had  given  scarfs  to  their  knights; 
that  presented  by  Madame  de  Perigord  to  Count  de 
Trautmansdorff,  the  Grand-Equerry,  was  sown  with 
golden  flowers-de-luce,  with  lion's  claws  in  the;  fringe. 
We  were  childish  enough  to  feel  pleased  because 
this  knight  carried  off  the  honors  of  the  day.'" 

Meanwhile,  serious  people  were  beginning  to  think 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  amusement  going  on  at 
Vienna.  Seldom  have  important  affairs  been  treated 
with  so  much  apparent  levity.  Prince  de  Talley- 
rand wrote  to  Louis  XVIII.,  on  November  2"),  1814: 
'•After  I  left  Prince  de  Metternich,  he  went  to  the 
Ridotto,  for  he  spends  three-quarters  of  his  time  at 
balls  and  public  entertainments.  His  head  was  so 
full  of  the  Naples  business  that,  having  met  there  a 
woman  of  his  acquaintance,  he  told  her  that  he  was 
being  tormented  about  it.  but  that  he  did  not  know 
how  to  give  his  consent.  lie  said  he  respected  a 
man  who  bad  made  himself  beloved  in  the  country  he 


60  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

governed ;  and  that,  moreover,  he  loved  the  Queen 
passionately,  and  was  in  constant  relations  with  her. 
All  this,  and  perhaps  a  little  more  on  the  same  head, 
was  said  under  the  mask."  In  his  new  capacity  as 
courtier  of  Louis  XVIII.  Talleyrand  could  not  par- 
don Metternich  for  preserving  his  affection  for  Napo- 
leon's sister,  and  wishing  to  protect  in  Murat  a 
prince  whom  the  Bourbons  considered  an  upstart  and 
usurper. 

The  Austrian  Minister  was  also  the  object  of  some 
sharp  criticism  at  the  hands  of  Baron  de  La  Tour-du- 
Pin,  who  wrote  to  Count  de  Jaucourt,  December  7, 
1814 :  "  The  public  generally  are  discontented  with 
the  condition  of  affairs;  they  especially  find  fault 
with  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  who  loses  in  public 
estimation  daily.  Any  minister  but  M.  de  Metter- 
nich would  take  immense  advantage  of  this ;  but 
what  can  be  expected  of  a  man  who,  in  the  gravest 
situation  that  can  possibly  be  imagined,  spends  the 
greater  portion  of  his  time  in  follies ;  who  was  not 
afraid  to  have  the  Pacha  de  Surene  played  at  his 
house,  and  who,  ever  since  the  Congress  began,  has 
spent  a  good  many  of  his  days  in  an  equally  futile 
way?  After  this,  M.  le  Conte,  you  ought  not  to  be 
surprised  at  the  slow  progress  of  affairs." 

This  Pacha  de  Surene,  which  Mas  one  of  the  Baron 
de  La  Tonr-du-Pin's  grievances,  had  the  greatest  suc- 
cess  at  one  of  the  court  soirees.  Etienne  s  charming 
comedy  was  played  in  French  by  amateurs,  who  were 
the  Landgrave  of  Furstenburg,  Prince  Antoine  Radzi- 


DURING    THE  CONGRESS   OF  VIENNA.  61 

will,  Count  Ferdinand  de  Waldstein,  Countess  Mnis- 
check,  Princess  Theresa  Esterhazy,  Princess  Marie  de 
Metternich,  Countess  Marassi,  Princesses  Marie  and 
Sophie  de  Lichtenstein,  etc.  After  the  play  followed 
tableaux  in  which  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
persons  of  the  court  took  part.  The  principal  one 
was  the  Tent  of  Darius,  after  Lebrun's  painting. 
Count  dc  Schoenfeld  represented  Alexander  the 
Great,  and  the  beautiful  Countess  Sophie  Zichy, 
Statira.  Baron  de  Bausset  writes  enthusiastically  in 
his  Memoirs:  "-The  scene  was  at  once  heroic  and 
voluptuous;  all  the  faces,  all  the  attitudes  of  the 
figures  in  this  living  picture,  wore  expressions  suita- 
ble to  their  age.  their  condition,  and  their  situation. 
Sizygambis  herself  was  admirable." 

On  December  2,  1814.  a  grand  rout  was  held  at 
the  imperial  palace,  of  which  an  account  is  found  in 
a  letter  from  Vienna  published  in  the  Moniteur 
Universel.  Three  great  halls  were  thrown  into  one 
by  means  of  galleries  and  staircases,  thus  providing 
a  space  so  large  that  ten  or  twelve  thousand  people 
might  easily  move  round  in  it.  The  passage  con- 
ducting from  the  apartments  of  the  palace  to  this 
grand  hall  was  adorned  with  shrubbery  and  flowers, 
and  looked  like  fairy-land.  An  alley  lined  with 
orange-trees  led  to  the  great  hall,  whence  could  be 
seen,  beyond  a  double  staircase,  the  superb  perspec- 
tive afforded  by  the  grounds  of  the  riding-school. 
The  hall  was  decorated  in  white  and  silver,  and 
sparkled  with  five  or  six  thousand  candles.     At  ten 


62      ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

o'clock  the  sovereigns  entered,  to  the  blare  of  the 
trumpets  and  kettle-drums.  The  Czar  and  the  Em- 
press of  Russia  opened  the  march,  followed  by  the 
Emperor  and  Empress  of  Austria,  the  King  of  Den- 
mark and  the  Archduchess  Beatrix,  the  King  of  Ba- 
varia and  the  Grand  Duchess  of  Oldenburg.  Having 
passed  several  times  through  the  three  halls,  the 
sovereigns  seated  themselves  on  a  platform  in  the 
Hall  of  the  Mandge,  and  watched  a  ballet  danced 
by  masked  children.     The  fete  lasted  until  morning. 

On  that  same  day,  December  2,  the  double  anni- 
versary of  Napoleon's  coronation  and  the  battle  of 
Austerlitz,  Marie  Louise  had  paid  a  visit  to  the 
Russian  Empress,  who  was  at  the  Burg.  While  the 
former  Empress  of  the  French  was  with  the  Czarina, 
her  carriage  was  awaiting  her  upon  the  ramparts 
near  by.  Some  of  the  curious  bystanders  who 
nocked  about  it  observed  that  the  carriage  panels, 
the  escutcheons  of  the  harness,  and  the  buttons  on 
the  livery  of  the  footmen  still  bore  the  imperial  arms 
of  France.  This  offended  them,  and  when  Marie 
Louise  re-entered  her  carriage  they  made  remarks  on 
the  subject  which  she  could  not  fail  to  hear.  Noth- 
ing more  was  needed  to  induce  her  to  have  these 
arms  removed.  She  replaced  them  by  her  own 
monogram. 

Alas !  it  was  not  merely  the  imperial  arms  which 
the  forgetful  wife  effaced;  it  was  the  memory  of  her 
husband.  The  captive  of  the  Coalition,  she  began 
to   familiarize   herself  with   her    chains    and  to  love 


DURING    THE  CONGRESS   OF   VIENNA.  U3 

Count  Neipperg.  Ever  since  her  visit  to  Aix  and 
Switzerland  she  had  placed  confidence  in  this  man 
who  was  as  much  her  guardian  as  her  chamberlain. 
Baron  de  la  Tour-du-Pin  had  written  to  Count  de 
Jaucourt,  on  September  7,  1814  :  "  I  do  not  know 
whether  you  have  been  informed  that  Major-General 
the  Count  of  Neipperg  has  been  appointed  by  the 
Austrian  Emperor  as  the  guardian  of  his  daughter. 
I  lis  business  is  to  prevent  her  doing  anything  which 
might  annoy  or  even  displease  the  King ;  and,  espe- 
cially, to  watch  her  carefully  in  case  she  seems  dis- 
posed to  go  to  her  husband.  Should  that  happen,  he 
is  to  advise  her  against  doing  so,  and,  if  she  persists, 
to  forbid  it  absolutely." 

General  Neipperg  had  acquitted  himself  of  his 
mission  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his  government. 
Marie  Louise,  who  had  once  declared  that  nothing 
could  induce  her  to  go  near  the  sovereigns  who 
dethroned  her,  had  ended  by  resigning  herself  with 
a  good  grace,  not  only  to  live  in  their  neighborhood, 
but  to  receive  their  visits.  Enchanted  with  the  wily 
Neipperg's  success,  the  Emperor  of  Austria  desired 
him  to  act  as  her  chamberlain  throughout  the  Con- 
gress, lie  assumed,  in  fact,  the  duties  of  grand 
equerry  and  official  charge*  d'affaires  as  well  as  those 
of  chamberlain.  And  in  proportion  as  his  influence 
over  the  weak  young  woman's  mind  increased,  she 
repelled  still  further  all  thought  of  a  reunion  with 
Napoleon.  A  widow  during  the  lifetime  of  her  hus- 
band, she   ceased  to  correspond  with  him.     At  first 


64  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

he  protested  against  this  silence,  which  he  did  not 
fully  comprehend.  On  October  10,  1814,  he  wrote 
thus  to  an  uncle  of  Marie  Louise,  Ferdinand  Joseph, 
Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany,  that  Prince  who  had  been 
so  respectful  toward  the  Napoleonic  glories,  and  so 
assiduous  at  the  court  of  the  Tuileries  when,  as 
Grand  Duke  of  Wurzburg,  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Rhine  Confederation  under  the  protectorate  of  the 
new  Charlemagne :  — 

"My  Brother  and  Very  Dear  Uncle:  Hav 
ing  received  no  news  from  my  wife  since  August  10, 
nor  from  my  son  for  six  months,  I  charge  the  Cheva- 
lier Colonna  with  this  letter.  I  beg  Your  Royal 
Highness  to  let  me  know  whether  I  may  send  you  a 
letter  for  the  Empress  every  week,  and  if  you  will 
forward  me  her  replies  and  those  of  the  Countess  of 
Montesquiou,  my  son's  governess.  I  flatter  myself 
that,  in  spite  of  the  events  which  have  changed  so 
many  persons,  Your  Roj^al  Highness  still  preserves 
some  friendship  for  me." 

The  Grand  Duke  despatched  this  letter  to  Vienna. 
Let  us  hear  what  M.  de  Mdneval  has  to  tell  us  about 
the  way  it  was  received.  "  One  day,"  he  says,  "  on 
returning  from  her  daily  visit  to  the  imperial  palace, 
Marie  Louise  brought  back  a  letter  from  the  Emperor 
Napoleon  which  her  father  had  given  her.  The 
Emperor  complained  of  her  silence,  and  begged  her 
to  write  him  accounts  of  herself  and  her  son.  The 
letter  had  been  delivered  by  a  courier  of  the  Grand 
Duke   of  Tuscany,  and  the    Austrian  Emperor  had 


DURING    TIIE  CONGRESS   OF   VIENNA.  65 

had  it  iii  his  hands  four  days.  It  had  been  shown  to 
the  sovereigns  without  any  doubt,  for  it  was  with 
that  intention,  and  in  order  to  prove  his  good  faith 
to  the  Allies,  that  the  Emperor  Francis  required  his 
daughter  to  pass  over  to  him  all  letters  received  from 
her  husband.  The  Empress  did  not  reply  to  this 
epistle,  as  she  received  no  permission  to  do  so." 

At  the  instance  of  Prince  Metternich,  Marie  Louise 
had  promised  not  to  hold  any  communication  with 
her  husband  without  the  consent  of  her  father,  to 
whom  she  also  remitted  all  letters  which  reached  her 
from  Elba.  Napoleon,  on  learning  that  even  his 
private  letters  to  his  wife  were  not  respected,  and 
that  she  was  forbidden  to  reply,  ceased  writing  to 
her  altogether. 

Yet  a  feeble  tie  still  bound  Marie  Louise  to  her 
souvenirs  of  France.  The  Countess  of  Brignole,  the 
Baron  of  Bausset,  and  the  Baron  of  Meneval  were 
still  with  her,  and  the  Countess  of  Montesquieu  con- 
tinued to  be  the  governess  of  the  child  who  had 
been  the  King  of  Rome.  M.  de  Meneval  says : 
"The  first  day  of  1815  reanimated  in  the  heart  of 
the  Empress  those  memories  of  France  which  had 
been  so  violently  assailed.  It  is  kept  as  a  holy-day 
in  France,  but  in  Vienna  no  one  observes  it.  It  is 
during  the  preceding  week  that  people  make  presents 
and  pay  compliments.  The  streets  of  Vienna  are 
crowded  with  carriages  and  pedestrians  in  their  Sun- 
day clothes.  They  seem  to  be  burying  the  old  year 
with  honor  rather  than  celebrating  the  birth  of   a 


66  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

new  one.  For  a  moment  the  Empress's  return  to 
French  ways  made  us  believe  that  all  was  not  yet 
forgotten  at  Schoenbrunn.  After  Mass  she  received 
all  her  household  in  the  gallery  of  the  palace.  She 
was  so  amiable  as  to  offer  me  some  charming  gifts, 
products  of  Viennese  industry,  and  to  add  to  them 
one  of  those  little  picture-cards,  expressive  of  good 
will,  which  it  is  a  German  custom  to  give  one's 
friends  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year.  Even  Count 
Neipperg  was  cordial  and  attentive." 

On  January  6,  Feast  of  the  Three  Kings,  Marie 
Louise  gave  a  luncheon  to  her  son,  her  sisters,  and 
her  youngest  brother,  the  little  Archduke  Francis, 
father  of  the  present  Emperor.  The  King  of  Rome 
found  the  bean  in  his  slice  of  Twelfth  Night  cake, 
and  enjoyed  the  ephemeral  royalty  it  gives  —  a  sym- 
bol of  that  which  destiny  had  torn  from  him.  Alas, 
the  little  Bonaparte,  as  he  was  now  called  by  those 
who  had  strewn  flowers  and  burned  incense  before 
his  cradle,  already  had  enemies  !  This  child,  not  yet 
four  years  old,  inspired  the  Coalition  with  fear.  The 
least  marks  of  good  will  shown  toward  him  alarmed 
the  zealous  adherents  of  Louis  XVIII.  On  August 
13,  1814,  Baron  de  la  Tour-du-Pin  had  written  to 
Talleyrand :  "  At  present  the  little  Bonaparte  is  alone 
at  Schoenbrunn.  It  is  certain  that  the  Emperor  of 
Austria  shows  him  much  affection.  He  receives  the 
honors  of  an  archduke."  On  October  15  M.  de 
Talleyrand,  somewhat  reassured,  wrote  to  the  King: 
"  Bonaparte's  son  is  no  longer  treated  as  he  was  on 


DURING    THE  CONGRESS    OF   VIENNA.  G< 

his  first  arrival  at  Vienna.  They  dress  him  more 
simply,  and  have  replaced  his  broad  ribbon  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor  by  that  of  Saint  Stephen." 

M.  de  Meneval  says  that  no  real  kindness  was 
shown  to  Marie  Louise  and  her  son  except  by  her 
father  and  her  sisters.  Her  step-mother  and  her 
brothers-in-law  talked  of  nothing  but  making  the 
child  a  bishop.  The  Emperor  was  sometimes  obliged 
to  silence  them.  Baron  de  Bausset  also  mentions 
these  hostile  dispositions.  He  says :  "  It  was  the 
general  opinion  in  Vienna  that  Napoleon  ought  to 
be  sent  to  Saint  Helena,  because  Elba  was  too  close 
to  Italy  and  France.  As  to  his  son,  he  should  be 
educated  for  the  priesthood,  and  made  to  hide  under 
a  wretched  frock  that  heritage  of  glory  and  grandeur 
whose  very  memory  they  wished  to  extinguish." 

The  son  of  the  great  Emperor  was  already  lovable 
and  attractive.  To  his  infant  graces  there  was  added 
a  nameless  and  precocious  melancholy.  As  the  poet 
Coppee  has  so  well  said,  he  was 

"  A  young  eaglet,  vaguely  feeling  himself  a  prisoner," 

and  he  inspired  a  tender  sympathy  in  every  generous 
soul.  Listen  to  the  faithful  Meneval,  who  speaks  of 
him  with  such  touching  and  unreserved  devotion: 
"My  greatest  distraction  was  to  spend  a  few  hours 
in  the  apartment  of  the  young  Prince.  His  pretty 
ways,  his  gentleness,  and  the  vivacity  of  his  repartees 
were  charming;  lie  was  then  nearly  four  years  old. 
His  fresh  and  rosy  face  was  lighted  by  beautiful  blue 


68  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

eyes  and  framed  in  clustering  fair  curls.  His  in- 
telligence was  precocious ;  he  was  better  instructed, 
moreover,  than  many  older  children.  Madame  de 
Montesquiou  never  left  him,  even  at  night,  and  cared 
for  him  with  all  the  solicitude  of  a  mother.  They 
rose  at  seven  every  morning,  and,  as  soon  as  prayers 
were  over,  his  daily  lessons  began.  He  not  only  read 
fluently,  but  even  knew  a  little  history  and  geog- 
raphy. One  Abbe*  Lanti,  almoner  of  the  French 
Legation,  came  to  talk  Italian  with  him,  and  a  valet 
de  chambre  addressed  him  only  in  German.  The 
child  could  already  make  himself  understood  in  both 
languages,  but  he  disliked  extremely  to  speak  the 
latter,  finding  the  pronunciation  difficult  and  harsh." 
Already  the  heart  of  the  former  King  of  Rome,  now 
the  Prince  of  Parma,  and  awaiting  the  day  when  he 
should  be  merely  the  Duke  of  Reichstadt,  was  con- 
scious of  a  strife  between  France,  his  true  fatherland, 
and  Austria,  the  false  one  they  were  imposing  on 
him !  Ah !  what  would  not  Napoleon  have  given  to 
see  his  son,  if  only  for  one  instant !  Marie  Louise, 
more  fortunate,  could  behold  him.  But  there  must 
have  been  moments  when  the  sight  of  this  child, 
whose  father  she  had  abandoned,  became  a  mute 
reproach. 

There  was  at  Vienna,  at  the  time  of  the  Congress, 
an  amiable  and  celebrated  old  man  who  was  the 
courtier  of  Marie  Louise  as  he  had  been  of  Marie 
Antoinette,  and  who  took  a  lively  interest  in  the 
great  Emperor's  son.     This  octogenarian  was  Prince 


DURING    THE  CONGRESS    OF  VIENNA.  09 


de  Ligne,  whose  life  had  been  so  brilliant  and  who 
still  wore  with  elegance  his  field-marshal's  uniform. 
He  was  present  at  all  the  entertainments,  and,  wish- 
ing still  to  play  his  old  role  of  arbiter  of  manners 
and  good  taste,  he  was  naively  astonished  that  he 
produced  less  effect  on  women  than  he  had  done  fifty 
or  sixty  years  before.  "  My  time  is  over,  my  world 
is  dead,"  he  would  say  with  gentle  melancholy. 
"  But  after  all,  what  merit  is  there  in  youth  that 
people  should  lavish  such  favors  on  it?  ...  It  is 
disgusting  to  see  what  a  brigandage  of  success  it  has 
in  society." 

The  old  man  consoled  himself  by  playing  soldiers 
with  the  little  Napoleon.  It  was  he  who  said, 
"  Honors,  ribbons,  glory  itself,  do  they  give  as  much 
pleasure  as  the  first  doll,  the  first  sailor-suit?  Tlio 
child  eats  four  times  a  day;  the  hero  often  cannot 
even  take  his  supper."  The  first  time  he  saw  the 
little  Prince  he  was  thus  announced:  " Monseigneur, 
here  is  the  Marshal  Prince  de  Ligne."  "  Is  he  a 
marshal?"  asked  the  child.  "Yes,  Monseigneur." 
"Is  he  one  of  those  who  deserted  my  father?" 

One  day  when  he  had  been  much  impressed  by  the 
military  parade  at  the  funeral  of  General  Delmotte, 
the  child  gave  his  old  friend  an  enthusiastic  account 
of  the  pleasure  he  felt  at  the  sight  of  so  many  fine 
troops.  "  I  will  give  you  a  greater  satisfaction  than 
that  before  long,"  answered  Prince  de  Ligne ;  "  the 
funeral  of  a  field-marshal  is  the  most  magnificent 
thing  of  the  sort  that  can  be."     The  old  man  kept 


70  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

his  word.  He  died  during  the  Congress,  and,  between 
two  balls,  procured  the  sight  of  a  splendid  funeral 
for  the  sovereigns.  Ten  thousand  troops  under  arms 
escorted  his  coffin  to  the  Kahlenberg,  the  last  moun- 
tain of  the  immense  Alpine  chain.  There  he  was 
buried  in  a  pavilion  he  had  dedicated  to  Gaiety  and 
the  Muses,  not  far  from  the  chapel  where  John 
Sobieski  went  to  pray  on  the  day  when  he  delivered 
Vienna.  The  Prince  de  Ligne  died  a  Christian.  It 
was  he  who  said  apropos  of  some  blatant  professions 
of  infidelity :  "  All  this  is  very  fine  when  one  does 
not  hear  the  bell  for  the  dying.  Really,  unbelief  is 
so  much  a  pretence,  that  if  a  man  honestly  had  it, 
I  don't  see  wiry  he  shouldn't  kill  himself  at  the  first 
pain  of  mind  or  body.  No  one  understands  suffi- 
ciently what  human  nature  would  be  under  the  influ- 
ence of  positive  irreligion.  As  to  the  atheists,  they 
are  living  under  the  protection  of  religion." 

In  the  midst  of  entertainments  of  all  sorts  there 
was  even  found  a  place  for  preachers.  The  fashion- 
able sermons  were  those  of  the  famous  tragic  poet, 
Werner,  once  a  Lutheran,  but  now  converted  to 
Catholicity  and  in  holy  orders.  The  King  of  Prussia 
said  to  him  one  day,  "  I  don't  like  people  who  change 
their  religion."  "That's  why  I  don't  like  Luther," 
lie  responded.  The  Abbe"  Werner  was  a  success, 
both  as  preacher  and  as  poet.  His  sermons  and  his 
verses  gave  equal  pleasure.  Marie  Louise  invited 
him  to  Schoenbrunn,  and  lie  read  her  his  tragedy, 
CunSyonde. 


DURING    THE  CONGBESS   OF   VIENNA.  71 

But  as  to  the  gayer  entertainments,  they  went  on 
without  Marie  Louise  sharing  in  them.  For  one  day, 
January  21,  1815,  they  were  interrupted  by  a  mass 
of  expiation,  offered  as  homage  to  the  memory  of 
the  martyr-king.  The  sovereigns,  all  in  mourning, 
repaired  to  the  Cathedral  of  Saint  Stephen  for  this 
solemnity.  Who  was  the  man  who  took  the  initia- 
tive in  the  matter?  It  was  the  former  bishop  who 
had  said  mass  in  the  Champ  de  Mars  on  the  day  of 
the  Fete  of  the  Federation  ;  the  minister  of  the 
Directory  who,  on  the  18th  Fructidor,  was  the  im- 
placable enemy  of  the  Royalists ;  the  grand  chamber- 
lain of  Napoleon  who,  on  the  day  of  his  coronation, 
carried  the  casket  intended  to  receive  the  Emperor's 
mantle. 

The  memory  of  the  execution  of  Louis  XVI.  did 
not  afflict  the  sovereigns  very  long.  The  next  day 
after  this  doleful  anniversary  there  was  a  splendid 
fete  at  Schoenbrunn.  The  monarchs  and  princes 
came  out  from  Vienna  in  sleighs  which  they  drove 
themselves.  Superb  horses  drew  them,  decked  with 
splendid  plumes  and  shaking  silver  bells.  A  large 
detachment  of  cavalry  opened  the  march.  One  im- 
mense sleigh  was  filled  with  trumpeters  and  drum- 
mers who  made  a  prodigious  noise.  All  the  ladies 
were  wrapped  in  magnificent  furs.  The  procession 
drove  through  the  courts  and  gardens  of  Schoen- 
brunn :  afterwards  they  entered  the  palace,  and  even 
passed  through  the  apartments  of  Madame  de  Mon- 
tesquiou  and  Madame  de  Brignole.     They  respected 


72  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

those  only  of  Marie  Louise,  who,  hidden  in  her 
chamber,  listened  to  the  blaring  of  the  trumpets. 
After  a  sumptuous  banquet  everybody  repaired  to 
the  theatre  of  the  castle,  where  a  German  version  of 
Cinderella  was  represented.  This  sleigh-ride  cost 
between  five  and  six  hundred  thousand  francs. 

It  was  a  singular  idea  to  place  Marie  Louise  in  the 
midst  of  this  whirlpool  of  pleasure  in  which  she  was 
forbidden  to  take  part.  The  joyous  music  which 
resounded  for  others,  but  not  for  her,  must  have 
brought  ironic  echoes  to  her  ears.  "To  me  also," 
she  might  have  said,  "fetes  have  been  given.  I,  too, 
have  been  the  object  of  public  curiosity  and  universal 
enjoyment.  I,  too,  have  been  flattered  by  courtiers 
never  tired  of  telling  me  I  possessed  all  graces  and 
all  virtues." 

The  former  Empress  of  the  French,  who  was  even 
now  but  twenty-three,  had  already  recovered  from 
many  illusions  and  human  vanities.  Nevertheless 
she  still  had  one  ambition :  it  was  to  be  the  Duchess 
of  Parma.  Her  whole  mind  was  bent  on  this,  and 
General  Neipperg  was  careful  to  cherish  her  fixed 
idea.  He  harped  upon  it  continually,  and  with  a 
zeal  which  made  her  believe  him  the  only  man 
really  interested  in  her  fate.  In  spite  of  the  formal 
stipulations  of  the  treaty  of  Fontainebleau,  made  on 
April  11,  1814,  the  Spanish  and  French  plenipoten- 
tiaries wished  to  deprive  her  of  the  duchies  of  Parma, 
Piacenza,  and  Guastalla,  and  give  them  to  the  for- 
mer Queen  of  Etruria,  the  daughter  of  Charles  IV. 


of  Spain.  Prince  Talleyrand,  contrary  to  all  equity 
and  justice,  combated  bitterly  the  indisputable  rights 
of  Napoleon's  wife.  On  January  19,  1815,  he  wrote 
to  Louis  XVIII.:  "As  to  the  arrangements  now 
making  with  reference  to  Italian  affairs,  we  have 
some  reason  to  hope  that  the  Archduchess  Marie 
Louise  will  be  reduced  to  a  considerable  annual 
pension.  I  must  tell  Your  Majesty  that  I  am  deeply 
interested  in  bringing  this  about,  because  by  this 
means  the  name  of  Bonaparte  would  certainly  be 
struck  from  the  list  of  sovereigns,  both  now  and  for 
the  future.  The  Island  of  Elba  is  his  only  for  his 
lifetime,  and  the  son  of  the  Archduchess  ought  not 
to  possess  an  independent  state.'' 

The  Emperor  of  Austria  defended  his  daughter's 
rights  but  feebly,  and  Prince  Metternich  occupied 
himself  much  more  with  Napoleon's  sister  Caroline 
than  with  Marie  Louise,  the  daughter  of  his  own 
sovereign.  The  man  who  showed  most  interest  in 
her  was  the  Czar.  Alexander's  chief  ambition  was 
to  lie  thought  a  chivalrous  prince,  and  he  made  it 
almost  a  point  of  honor  to  demand  the  execution 
of  the  treaty  of  Fontainebleau :  he  considered  it  a 
proof  of  his  magnanimity.  As  in  1814  he  had  been 
the  courtier  of  the  Empress  Josephine  at  Malmaison, 
so  at  Schoenbrunn  lie  wished  to  be  that  of  the  Em- 
press Marie  Louise.  This  role  of  protector  to  Napo- 
leon's two  wives,  two  dethroned  princesses,  suited 
his  generous  nature.  The  Bourbons  gave  him  no 
great    pleasure.       He    thought    them    too   infatuated 


74  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

about  the  antiquity  of  their  family.  Sometimes  lie 
reproached  himself  for  not  having  preferred  to  them, 
if  not  Napoleon,  at  least  the  King  of  Rome.  He 
made  a  parade  of  walking  arm  in  arm  with  Prince 
Eugene  de  Beauharnais  every  day.  This  intimacy 
between  the  Czar  and  Napoleon's  adopted  son  exas- 
perated both  the  old  French  Royalists  and  the  new 
ones.  Talleyrand  either  considered  or  pretended  to 
consider  Alexander  a  frivolous  and  superficial  person 
who  loved  a  false  popularity ;  a  self-seeking  apostle 
of  a  pretended  liberalism.  The  ex-dignitary  of  the 
Empire  had  written  to  Louis  XVIII.  on  November 
12,  1814:  "It  is  reported  that  the  Emperor  Alex- 
ander, in  speaking  of  the  Austrian  opposition  to  his 
views,  and  after  bitter  complaints  against  M.  de  Met- 
ternich,  said :  '  Austria  thinks  itself  sure  of  Italy,  but 
there  is  a  Napoleon  there  who  could  be  made  useful.' 
I  cannot  vouch  for  the  truth  of  this,  but  the  saying 
goes  the  rounds,  and  if  it  be  true,  it  gives  an  exact 
measure  of  him  who  made  it."  Louis  XVIII.  replied, 
November  22 :  "I  credit  the  speech  attributed  to  the 
Emperor  Alexander.  It  is  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance, therefore,  that  Austria  and  England  should 
take  to  heart  the  adage,  trivial  if  you  will,  but  full 
of  sense,  and  specially  applicable  under  existing 
circumstances,  Sublatd  cansd,  tolliter  effectus?"1  The 
truth  is,  Talleyrand  should  have  blushed  to  be  the 
accuser  of  Napoleon  when  the  Czar,  in  spite  of 
the  terrible  memories  of  the  Russian  campaign,  was 
his  defender.     The  more  averse  he  became  to  Aus- 


DURING    THE  CONGRESS   0$    VIENNA.  75 

tria,  whose  views  were  in  opposition  to  his  own, 
the  more  sympathy  did  Alexander  show  toward 
Marie  Louise.  He  frequently  went  unannounced 
to  Schoenbrunn,  and  lavished  marks  of  the  sincer- 
est  esteem  and  most  exquisite  courtesy  on  the  de- 
throned sovereign. 

Marie  Louise,  feebly  defended  by  her  father,  was 
reduced  to  solicit  in  writing  the  good  offices  of  the 
other  monarchs.  She  addressed  her  petitions  not 
only  to  the  Czar,  but  to  the  King  of  Prussia.  Lord 
Castlereagh  presented  himself  at  Schoenbrunn  in 
boots  and  carrying  a  riding-whip,  and  only  withdrew 
on  being  admonished  that  his  costume  was  contrary 
to  etiquette.  The  Minister  probably  thought  that 
an  Austrian  Archduchess  had  forfeited  her  claim  to 
polite  treatment  by  the  fact  of  becoming  the  Em- 
peror Napoleon's  wife.  One  might  have  said  that 
the  members  of  the  Congress  took  a  malicious  pleas- 
ure in  heaping  up  obstacles  to  the  execution  of  the 
most  solemn  promises.  The  ink  was  hardly  dry  on 
the  treaty  signed  at  Fontainebleau,  April  11,  1814, 
before  its  most  precise  stipulations  were  disregarded. 
No  pains  were  taken  even  to  find  pretexts  for  excus- 
ing these  violations  of  sworn  faith.  In  this  affair,  as 
in  that  of  Saxony,  it  must  be  owned  that  the  sover- 
eigns set  a  by  no  means  good  example  to  their  peo- 
ple. It  was  they  who  undermined  the  bases  of  both 
throne  and  altar. 

Prince  Talleyrand  wrote  to  Louis  XVIII.,  Febru- 
ary 15,  1815:  "As  to  the  territorial  arrangements  in 


76  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

Italy,  the  commission  charged  with  preparing  the 
plan  have  proposed  to  give  Parma,  Piacenza,  and 
Guastalla,  to  the  Queen  of  Etruria ;  the  Legations 
to  the  Holy  See ;  the  Presides,  Piombino,  and  the 
reversion  of  Elba  to  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany. 
The  Archduchess  Marie'  Louise  would  have  nothing 
but  a  pension  paid  by  Tuscany  and  certain  fiefs  for- 
merly held  by  the  old  German  Empire  and  now  by 
the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany,  to  whom  they  were 
given  as  the  completion  of  his  indemnity  by  a  decree 
of  the  Diet.  They  are  situated  in  Bohemia,  and 
}deld  an  income  of  four  hundred  thousand  florins. 
This  scheme  was  presented  through  our  influence. 
It  has  the  double  advantage  of  not  merely  diminish- 
ing the  number  of  petty  sovereignties  in  Italy,  but, 
what  is  still  more  essential,  that  of  sending  the  son 
of  the  Archduchess  out  of  the  way  and  depriving 
him  of  all  expectation  of  ever  reigning.  Austria 
hesitated  for  a  month,  but  the  Emperor  has  at  last 
decided  to  yield  the  duchies  to  the  Queen  of  Etruria ; 
he  says  it  would  not  be  becoming  to  keep  either  for 
himself  or  any  of  his  family  a  state  belonging  to  the 
House  of  Bourbon,  with  whom  it  is  both  his  interest 
and  his  duty  to  remain  on  good  terms.  But,  know- 
ing that  his  daughter  is  determined  to  have  an  inde 
pendent  establishment,  he  has  proposed  that  she  shall 
have  Lucca,  and  lias  charged  his  Minister  to  negotiate 
the  affair  with  her." 

Marie  Louise  was  energetic  in  her  refusal  of  this 
scheme,  and  Talleyrand  added  these  sentences  to  his 


DURING    THE  CONGRESS   OF   VIENNA.  77 

letter :  "  M.  de  Metternich  presented  this  counter- 
project  and  discussed  it  with  me  before  going  to  the 
Archduchess.  His  presumption  and  his  excessive  lev- 
ity had  prevented  his  foreseeing  that  it  might  not  be 
a  complete  success.  But  at  the  first  word,  the  Arch- 
duchess Marie  Louise  appeared  unwilling  to  content 
herself  with  Lucca,  and  even  not  to  care  at  all  for 
that  principality.  She  said  it  would  not  be  agreeable 
to  go  there  while  Napoleon  is  at  Elba.  She  insists, 
or,  rather  her  advisers  insist,  on  the  rights  secured  to 
her  by  the  treaty  of  April  11.  She  does  not  demand 
Parma,  but  she  will  have  something  equivalent  or 
nearly  so.  I  see  no  way  to  satisfy  her,  short  of  giv- 
ing her  the  Legations,  while  securing  their  reversion 
to  the  Holy  See.  But  the  court  of  Rome,  which 
cannot  be  reconciled  even  to  the  loss  of  Avignon, 
would  make  an  outcry,  and  perhaps  even  resort  to 
means  of  defence  compromising  to  itself.  M.  de 
Metternich  demands  three  days  to  consider  his  course 
of  action,  and  will  then  give  me  his  answer." 

So  then  Talleyrand,  who  continued  to  wear  the 
title  of  Prince  of  Benevento,  stolen  from  the  Pope, 
would  have  asked  nothing  better  than  to  rob  Pius 
VII.  of  the  Legations.  The  obstinacy  with  which 
Marie  Louise  asserted  her  right  to  Parma  prevented 
the  success  of  this  combination.  But  in  order  to 
obtain  this  duchy  so  much  desired,  she  was  at  last 
wearied  into  a  promise  not  to  take  her  son  there  with 
her.  The  Duchy  of  Parma  was  the  reward  of  all  the 
bad  actions  suggested  to  her  bv  the  Mephistopheles 


78  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

of  diplomacy.  "  Do  you  want  to  be  Duchess  of  Par- 
ma ?  "  was  said  to  her ;  "  abandon  your  husband  for- 
ever; swear  never  to  write  him  a  single  line.  Do 
you  want  to  be  Duchess  of  Parma  ?  Renounce  your 
son  also;  you  cannot  enter  your  new  dominions  with 
this  child.  Leave  him  at  Vienna.  You  may  come  to 
see  him  from  time  to  time ;  but  Parma  is  as  much 
interdicted  to  him  as  France.  You  may  be  Duchess 
of  Parma,  Piacenza,  and  Guastalla,  but  only  on  one 
condition :  your  son  shall  not  be  your  heir,  but  sim- 
ply and  absolutely  an  Austrian  subject,  or  better,  a 
prisoner." 

However,  the  fetes  continued.  The  sovereigns 
cloaked  their  dissensions  under  a  pretence  of  amuse- 
ment. Lent  put  a  stop  to  the  balls,  but  all  other 
dissipations  went  on  as  usual.  On  March  3,  1815, 
Talleyrand  wrote  to  Louis  XVIII. :  "In  the  embar- 
rassment of  not  knowing  how  to  pass  the  time  when 
dancing  is  given  up,  all  sorts  of  games  and  amuse- 
ments are  resorted  to.  Among  the  most  fashionable 
are  lotteries,  to  which  each  person  invited  contributes 
a  prize,  so  that  there  are  no  blanks,  and  every  one 
wins.  Day  before  yesterday  Princess  Marie  Ester- 
hazy  gave  a  lottery  of  this  description,  and  by  an 
excess  of  civility  which  has  been  severely  criticised, 
she  undertook  to  arrange  matters  so  that  the  four 
chief  prizes  should  fall  to  women  particularly  distin- 
guished by  the  Czar  and  the  King  of  Prussia,  both  of 
whom  were  present.  The  scheme  was  frustrated  by 
young  Metternich,  who  approached  the  basket  when 


DURING    THE  CONGRESS   OF   VIENNA.  79 

it  was  not  his  turn  and  drew  a  ticket  which  was 
found  to  entitle  him  to  the  most  magnificent  lot  of 
all :  it  had  been  brought  by  the  Emperor  of  Russia. 
The  latter  was  not  able  to  hide  his  chagrin,  and  every 
one  present  was  highly  amused.  Your  Majesty  will 
remember  that  the  Czar  does  not  attend  M.  de  Met- 
ternich's  balls  of  late  nor  speak  to  him  when  they 
meet  elsewhere.  The  Emperor  had  nothing  but  ill- 
luck  that  evening.  A  prize  which  had  been  brought 
by  the  young  Princess  of  Auersberg,  for  whom  he 
seems  to  have  a  preference,  was  won  by  an  aide-de- 
camp of  the  King  of  Prussia.  The  Emperor  proposed 
an  exchange,  but  the  winner  refused;  the  Emperor 
insisted,  even  to  the  point  of  claiming  that  it  had 
Ixien  intended  for  him ;  the  aide-de-camp  replied  that 
it  was  too  precious  for  him  to  think  of  parting  with 
it.  All  this  delighted  everybody,  and  it  was  quite 
enough  to  persuade  the  Emperor  that  the  soirees  at 
Vienna  by  no  means  display  the  good  taste  which 
marked  them  when  he  came."' 

On  March  5,  1815,  the  Austrian  Empress  gave 
an  evening  party  at  which  tableaux  vivants  were  to 
furnish  the  entertainment.  The  principal  one  repre- 
sented un  interview  between  Maximilian  I.  and  Marie 
i  if  Burgundy.  The  most  charming  women  of  the 
court  figured  in  it,  and  the  spectators  were  still 
enjoying  its  unusual  excellence  when  suddenly  an 
unwelcome  rumor  began  to  circulate.  Maximilian, 
Marie  of  Burgundy,  the  bishop,  the  ladies,  the  chev- 
aliers, the  Grand  Mistress,  —  all  the  personages  of  the 


80  ELBA,    AND    THE  HUNDRED   DAYS. 

tableau  seemed  disturbed.  On  some  faces  there  was 
anger,  on  others  stupefaction.  What  news  was  it 
that  produced  this  profound  impression  of  surprise 
and  terror?  They  had  just  learned  that  Napoleon 
had  quitted  Elba,  and  every  one  asked  himself, 
"  Where  is  he  going  ?  " 

No  more  amusements,  no  more  feasts  !  To  arms ! 
all  Europe  was  about  to  cry.  To  arms  all  the  troops 
of  the  Coalition  !  To  arms  a  million  of  men  against 
a  battalion  from  the  Isle  of  Elba  !  Napoleon  breaks 
his  parole.  But  the  Bourbons,  the  Allies,  had  not 
they  broken  theirs  ?  Not  receiving  the  subsidy  stipu- 
lated by  the  treaty  of  Fontainebleau,  the  Emperor 
was  on  the  verge  of  famine.  The  moment  was  near 
when  he  would  be  obliged  to  disband  his  brave 
grenadiers,  the  companions  of  his  glory,  his  consolers 
in  misfortune.  His  wife  and  child  had  been  torn 
from  him.  He  was  treated  like  a  brigand.  The  in- 
tention to  transport  him  like  a  vile  criminal  to  some 
distant  island  of  the  Atlantic  was  openly  avowed. 
Had  not  Talleyrand,  the  in  grate  Talleyrand,  written 
to  Louis  XVIH.,  on  October  13,  1814:  "There  is  a 
fixed  resolve  expressed  to  remove  Bonaparte  from 
Elba,  but  no  one  seems  able  to  settle  on  a  suitable 
place  for  him.  I  propose  one  of  the  Azores.  It 
would  be  five  hundred  leagues  from  any  country." 
Had  not  Louis  XVI 1 1.,  in  his  answer  of  October  21, 
spoken  of  that  "  excellent  idea  of  the  Azores"?  And 
had  not  Talleyrand,  writing  again  to  the  King, 
December  7,  1814,  said:    "We  must   hasten  to  get 


DURING    THE  CONGRESS   OF   VIENNA.  81 

rid  of  Murat  and  the  man  of  Elba"?  Fatal  as  were 
the  consequences  of  this  return  from  Elba,  which  led 
to  Waterloo,  it  must  be  owned  that  Napoleon  had  a 
right  to  defend  himself  against  proceedings  contrary 
to  justice  and  morality.  He  was  not  merely  a  gen- 
eral seeking  to  replace  himself  at  the  head  of  his 
troops,  a  sovereign  anxious  to  reconquer  his  sceptre; 
he  was  a  husband  and  father  bent  on  regaining  pos- 
session of  his  wife  and  child. 


VIT. 


THE   RETURN  FROM  ELBA. 

SATURDAY,  February  25,  1815.  The  Island  of 
Elba  presents  its  customary  aspect.  No  one  has 
as  yet  the  least  notion  of  the  resolution  Napoleon  is 
about  to  take.  Nothing  is  talked  of  at  Porto-Fer- 
rajo  but  the  ball  to  be  given  in  the  evening  by  the 
beautiful  Princess  Pauline  Borghese,  the  Emperor's 
sister.  This  fete  is  very  brilliant.  All  the  officers  are 
present,  as  well  as  the  notabilities  of  the  island  and 
some  visiting  foreigners.  Napoleon  is  very  gay ;  his 
easy  and  cheerful  conversation  betrays  no  preoccupa- 
tion. He  stays  until  a  late  hour,  and  then  takes 
Generals  Bertrand  and  Drouot  home  with  him  to 
tell  them  his  news  from  Vienna  and  France.  At 
Vienna  they  have  decreed  his  transportation  to  the 
Azores.  In  France  the  entire  army  and  the  majority 
of  the  people  await  him  as  a  liberator.  He  says, 
"  We  will  start  to-morrow  !  " 

Sunday,  February  26.  Bertrand  and  Drouot  have 
kept  the  secret  faithfully.  The  Emperor  holds  his 
levee  as  usual,  and  afterwards  is  present  at  the  parade 
and  at  the  Mass.     Up  to  four  in  the  afternoon  the 

82 


THE   RETURN   FROM  ELBA.  83 

troops  know  nothing.  The  roll  of  the  drums  sum- 
mons them  to  dinner ;  .and  when  that  is  over  they 
are  ordered  to  repair  to  the  wharf  with  their  arms 
and  baggage.  At  five  the  signal  for  embarkation  is 
given,  and  some  four  hundred  of  the  Guard,  with 
their  officers,  go  on  board  the  brig  Inconstant,  which 
carries  twenty-six  guns.  The  remainder  of  the  troops, 
amounting  to  about  seven  hundred,  embark  on  the 
schooner  Caroline  and  live  other  small  vessels.  The 
wharf  is  full  of  people.  The  inhabitants  bid  an  affec- 
tionate adieu  to  the  soldiers  whom  they  esteem  and 
love.  Madame  Mere  and  the  Princess  Pauline  are 
at  the  chateau  windows.  Napoleon  appears  and  is 
cheered,  his  countenance  meanwhile  beaming  with  joy 
and  confidence.  He  goes  on  board  the  Inconstant, 
which  is  commanded  by  Captain  Chautart  with  naval 
Lieutenant  Taillade  as  second  officer.  The  flotilla 
gets  under  sail  with  a  south  wind  blowing.  Night 
falls ;  by  daybreak  they  hope  to  have  rounded 
Capraja  and  to  be  beyond  the  French  and  English 
cruisers  which  operate  from  that  side.  But  hardly 
have  they  doubled  the  Elban  cape  of  Saint  Andre" 
when  the  wind  goes  down  and  the  sea  becomes 
absolutely  calm. 

Monday,  February  "27.  Day  breaks  ;  they  have 
made  only  six  leagues,  and  are  in  full  sight  of  the 
cruisers,  between  Capraja  and  Elba,  chained,  as  it 
were,  upon  a  moveless  sea.  Some  of  the  naval  officers 
advise  a  return  to  Porto-Ferrajo.  But  the  wind  rises 
again,  and  Napoleon   orders  the   voyage   to  be  con- 


84  ELBA,    AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

tinued.  At  four  in  the  afternoon  they  are  off  the 
heights  of  Leghorn.  One  frigate  is  sighted  five 
leagues  to  leeward ;  another  is  close  to  Corsica  ;  and 
in  the  distance  is  seen  a  man-of-war  approaching  the 
flotilla  with  the  wind  astern.  It  is  the  ZSpJiir,  a 
vessel  of  the  French  royal  navy,  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain Andrieux.  What  is  to  be  done  ?  Shall  they  run 
up  the  tricolor  and  try  to  induce  this  officer  to  declare 
for  Napoleon.  The  Emperor  will  not  risk  an  impru- 
dence which  may  not  succeed.  He  orders  the  grena- 
diers to  take  off  their  foraging  caps  and  hide  under 
the  bridge.  At  six  in  the  evening  the  Zephir  and 
the  Incoristant  are  near  enough  to  speak,  and  a  dia- 
logue opens  between  Lieutenant  Taillade  and  Captain 
Andrieux,  who  know  and  salute  each  other.  The 
former  takes  his  speaking-trumpet :  — 

"  Where  are  you  bound?  " 

"  To  Leghorn.     And  you  ?  " 

"To  Genoa.  Have  you  any  commissions  I  can 
execute  there  ?  " 

"  Thanks,  not  any.     How  is  the  Emperor  ?  " 

"  Very  well." 

"  So  much  the  better." 

The  conversation  ends ;  the  two  vessels  continue 
their  opposite  routes  and  lose  sight  of  each  other. 
The  officer  of  the  royal  navy  does  not  suspect  that 
Ctesar  and  his  fortunes  have  just  passed  by.  The 
other  vessels  which  had  alarmed  the  imperial  flotilla 
have  disappeared  from  the  horizon. 

Tuesday,  February  28.     During  the  night  the  wind 


THE   RETURN   FROM  ELBA.  85 


has  continued  to  freshen.  At  dawn  a  vessel  of  sev- 
enty-four guns  is  seen  in  the  distance  which  appears 
to  be  going  to  Saint-Florent  or  Sardinia;  but  it 
soon  becomes  evident  that  it  will  not  trouble  it- 
self about  the  Emperor's  flotilla.  They  have  been 
thirty-six  hours  at  sea,  and  the  soldiers  do  not  yet 
know  whither  they  are  bound.  All  at  once,  Lieuten- 
ant Taillade  notices  that  Captain  Chautart  has  turned 
the  vessel's  head  away  from  France.  "  Gentlemen,'' 
he  says  to  the  officers  on  the  bridge,  "are  we  going 
to  Spain  or  to  Africa?"  Some  one  reports  this  to 
Napoleon,  and  he  summons  Taillade. 

•*  Where  are  we?"  he  says. 

••Sire,  we  are  headed  for  Africa."' 

'•  I  don't  desire  to  go  there.      Take  me  to  France." 

"  Your  Majesty  shall  be  there  before  noon  to- 
morrow." 

Then  the  Emperor,  turning  toward  the  soldiers  of 
the  Old  Guard:  — 

"  Yes,  grenadiers,  we  are  going  to  France,  to 
Paris."  And  the  soldiers  break  into  enthusiastic 
cries. 

Napoleon  makes  of  the  deck  of  the  Inconstant  both 
his  promenade  and  his  cabinet.  While  the  wind  blows 
and  they  near  the  coast  of  France,  he  dictates  two 
proclamations,  one  to  the  people,  the  other  to  the 
army.  '•  Frenchmen,  in  my  exile  I  have  heard  your 
lamentations  and  your  prayers;  I  have  crossed  the 
seas  in  the  midst  of  perils  of  every  kind;  I  arrive 
among  you  to  resume  my  rights,  which  are  also  yours. 


8(3  ELBA,   AND   TBE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

I  will  forget  forever  all  that  individuals  may  have 
said,  done,  or  written  since  the  taking  of  Paris,  be- 
cause there  are  events  which  are  too  powerful  for 
human  nature.  Frenchmen,  there  is  no  nation,  how- 
ever insignificant,  which  has  not  had  the  right,  and 
has  not  attempted,  to  free  itself  from  the  dishonor  of 
obeying  a  prince  imposed  on  it  by  a  momentarily 
victorious  enemy.  When  Charles  VII.  re-entered 
Paris  and  overthrew  the  ephemeral  power  of  Henry 
VI.,  he  recognized  that  he  owed  his  throne  to  the 
valor  of  his  soldiers  and  not  to  the  Prince  Regent  of 
England.  And  it  is  to  you  alone,  and  to  the  brave 
men  of  the  army,  that  I  glory  and  will  ever  glory 
in  owing  all." 

The  proclamation  to  the  army  is  more  ardent  still : 
"Soldiers,  we  have  not  been  vanquished.  Two  men, 
risen  from  our  ranks,  betrayed  our  laurels,  their 
country,  their  prince,  their  benefactor.  Shall  those 
whom  we  have  seen  for  twenty  years  scouring 
Europe  to  make  enemies  for  us ;  those  who  have 
passed  their  lives  fighting  against  us  in  foreign 
armies  and  cursing  our  beautiful  France  ;  shall  they 
command  and  chain  our  eagles,  they  who  never 
could  endure  their  glance  ?  Shall  we  suffer  them 
to  inherit  the  fruit  of  our  labors,  to  seize  our  honors 
and  our  goods  and  calumniate  our  glory?  Should 
their  reign  endure,  all  would  be  lost,  even  the  sou- 
venir of  our  most  memorable  days." 

Then,  in  a  martial  voice  which  grew  more  ani- 
mated from  phrase  to  phrase,  Napoleon  thus  ended 
his  dictation,  sonorous  as  the  note  of  a  clarion :  — 


THE  RETURN   FROM  ELBA.  87 

"  Come,  range  yourselves  beneath  the  banners  of 
your  chief.  His  existence  is  bound  up  with  yours ; 
his  rights  are  yours  and  those  of  the  people ;  his 
interest,  his  honor,  his  glory,  are  nothing  but  your 
interest,  your  honor,  your  glory.  Our  onset  and  our 
victory  will  march  side  by  side  ;  the  eagle  with  the 
national  colors  will  fly  from  steeple  to  steeple,  till  it 
reaches  the  towers  of  Notre  Dame.  Then  you  can 
show  your  scars  with  honor;  then  you  can  boast  of 
what  you  have  done ;  you  will  be  the  liberators  of 
the  fatherland.*' 

As  soon  as  the  dictation  is  finished,  the  subaltern 
officers  begin  to  transcribe  it  with  so  much  zeal  that 
five  hundred  copies  are  ready  before  they  land. 

Wednesday,  March  1.  In  the  morning  they  behold 
with  joy  the  coast  of  France.  At  noon  they  sight 
Antibes  and  the  Islands  of  Sainte-Marguerite ;  at  three 
they  anchor  in  the  Bay  of  Juan.  The  guns  of  the 
Inconstant  tire  salvos  of  rejoicing,  and  every  soldier 
dons  his  tricolored  cockade.  The  boats  are  let  down, 
and  the  landing  is  completed  by  live  in  the  afternoon. 
They  bivouac  in  an  olive  plantation  near  the  shore. 
"  Happy  omen!"  cries  Napoleon;  4,the  olive  is  the  em- 
blem of  peace."  He  plucks  some  violets;  then  a  table 
and  chair  are  brought,  and  he  sits  down  and  spreads 
out  his  maps.  He  must  choose  between  two  roads, 
■ — that  of  lower  Provence,  which  is  easy,  but  where 
he  cannot  rely  on  the  favorable  attitude  of  the  people, 
and  that  of  Dauphiny,  which  bristles  with  rocks  and 
mountains  covered  with  ice  and  snow,  but  where  thev 


88  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

will  encounter  sympathetic  sentiments.  This  route, 
too,  will  recall  the  passage  of  the  Alps  at  the  time  of 
the  Marengo  campaign,  and  the  Emperor  settles  on  it. 
The  moon  rises.  At  eleven  he  leaves  the  bivouac 
and  goes  toward  Cannes,  whither  he  had  sent  Gen- 
eral Cambronne  with  a  vanguard  to  buy  mules  and 
horses.  He  passes  through  Cannes  at  midnight,  and 
continues  his  route,  leaving  Antibes  on  the  right. 

Thursday,  March  2.  The  Emperor  has  marched 
all  night.  At  daybreak  they  wind  round  Grasse,  and 
take  up  position  on  a  plateau  which  overlooks  the 
town.  Some  of  the  inhabitants  bring  provisions, 
which  the  Emperor  accepts  and  pays  for.  After  rest- 
ing two  hours,  he  sets  off  again  in  the  direction  of 
Sernon.  At  Grasse  he  abandons  the  four  field-pieces 
which  composed  his  artillery,  because  they  would  be 
impediments  on  the  almost  impassable  roads  they  are 
about  to  traverse.  A  hundred  men  under  Cambronne 
form  the  vanguard ;  the  Emperor  is  in  the  centre,  with 
the  battalion  of  the  Old  Guard,  which  escorts  the 
treasure  and  the  ammunition  and  stores ;  the  Corsican 
battalion  form  the  rear-guard.  The  way  is  difficult 
and  the  cold  severe.  They  march  in  single  file  along 
roads  bordering  precipices,  down  which  several  mules, 
one  of  them  laden  with  gold,  plunge  and  cannot  be 
rescued.  Napoleon,  obliged  to  dismount  in  order  to 
keep  warm,  more  than  once  stumbles  in  the  snow. 
Once  he  rests  for  a. moment  in  a  cabin  where  there 
is  an  old  woman,  and  draws  near  her  brushwood 
fire. 


THE  RETURN   FROM  ELBA.  89 

"  Have  you  any  news  from  Paris  ? "  he  says  to 
the  old  peasant.  "  Do  you  know  what  the  King  is 
doing?" 

"  The  King  ?  "  answers  the  old  woman.  "  You  mean 
to  say  the  Emperor.     He  is  always  down  yonder." 

So  the  peasant  has  heard  not  a  word  of  all  that  has 
happened  in  the  last  year.  ()  vanity  of  glory  !  Napo- 
leon looks  pensively  at  General  Drouot.  "  Well, 
Drouot,"  he  says,  "what  is  the  good  of  troubling 
the  world  in  order  to  till  it  with  our  name  ? " 

In  the  evening  he  arrives  at  Sernon,  on  the  con- 
fines of  the  Department  of  the  Lower  Alps.  He  and 
his  troops  have  marched  twenty  leagues  that  day. 
His  soldiers  are  worn  out  with  fatigue,  but  their 
enthusiasm  revives  them. 

Friday,  March  3.  The  Emperor,  who  passed  the 
night  at  Sernon,  resumes  his  march  in  the  morning. 
The  cold  remains  bitter,  and  the  roads,  covered  with 
snow,  continually  ascend.  The  Polish  lancers,  who 
have  not  yet  been  able  to  obtain  horses,  carry  their 
equipments  on  their  shoulders.  Nobody  complains, 
and  they  cover  almost  as  many  miles  as  on  the  previ- 
ous day.  At  night  they  sleep  at  Bareme,  ten  leagues 
from  tin;  banks  of  the  Durance. 

Saturday,  March  4.  They  make  an  early  start, 
and  at  one  in  the  afternoon  the  Emperor  on  horse- 
back enters  Dijon,  where  he  breakfasts.  At  half-past 
three  he  gets  into  the  saddle  again,  and  departs, 
leaving  General  Drouot,  with  four  grenadiers,  to  look 
after  the  printing  of  his  proclamations,  which  until 


90  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

now  have  circulated  in  manuscript.  At  nine  he 
reaches  Malijai,  where  he  sleeps. 

Sunday,  March  5.  They  turn  towards  Sisteron, 
where  a  great  obstacle  is  to  be  dreaded.  The  for- 
tress of  this  town  is  separated  from  the  Durance  by  a 
bridge.  What  is  to  be  done  if  it  is  defended,  or  its 
single  arch  blown  up  ?  But  at  two  in  the  morning, 
General  Cambronne  and  the  advance  guard  reach 
the  bridge  and  seize  it  unresisted.  Napoleon  enters 
Sisteron  without  difficulty,  breakfasts,  and  receives 
the  sub-prefect  and  the  mayor,  who  come  to  pay 
their  compliments,  while  the  people  give  him  an 
enthusiastic  welcome.  As  his  Arabian  is  too  tired 
to  go  any  further,  he  takes  another  horse,  pursues 
his  route,  and  sleeps  that  night  at  Gap. 

Monday,  March  6.  The  Emperor  spent  the  night 
at  Gap,  with  only  ten  cavalrymen  and  forty  grena- 
diers. His  advance  guard  had  started  several  hours 
before  him,  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  the  danger- 
ous defile  of  Saint-Bonnet,  which,  on  leaving  Gap, 
crosses  a  high  mountain  at  the  pass  of  Saint-Guignes, 
and  connects  the  valley  of  the  Durance  with  that  of 
the  Drac,  one  of  the  affluents  of  the  Isere.  Napoleon 
waits  for  the  rear-guard,  and  leaves  Gap  with  it  at 
two  in  the  afternoon.  The  whole  population  of  the 
town  turns  out  to  see  him  go.  They  pass  the  defile 
without  difficulty.  At  Saint-Bonnet,  the  inhabitants, 
seeing  how  few  troops  he  has,  tremble  on  his  account; 
they  beg  him  to  sound  the  tocsin,  and  summon  all 
able-bodied  men  in  the  surrounding  villages  for  an 


THE  RETURN   FROM  ELBA.  91 

escort.  "  No,"  says  he  ;  "  your  sentiments  prove  to 
me  that  I  did  not  deceive  myself.  They  guarantee 
the  sentiments  of  my  soldiery.  Those  whom  I  meet 
will  range  themselves  on  my  side.  The  more  of 
them  there  are,  the  more  certainly  will  my  success  be 
assured.  Stay  quietly  at  home."  Napoleon  sleeps 
at  Corps,  a  town  on  the  boundary  of  the  Department 
of  the  Isere,  while  his  advance  guard  march  all  night 
toward  the  village  of  La  Mure. 

Tuesday,  March  7.  The  solemn  moment  is  ap- 
proaching. As  yet  the  Emperor  has  met  no  troops 
to  bar  his  passage.  The  white  flag  and  the  tricolor 
have  not  found  themselves  face  to  face.  Not  a 
soldier  belonging  to  the  armies  of  Louis  XVIII.  has 
joined  the  little  phalanx  from  the  Island  of  Elba. 
No  one  can  assure  the  Emperor  that  they  will  not 
fire  on  him.  Even  among  the  Bonapartists  there  are 
a  good  many  officers  who  are  unwilling  to  violate 
the  oatli  so  recently  taken  to  the  King.  A  terrible 
conflict  goes  on  in  their  hearts  between  the  memory 
of  past  glories  and  the  sentiment  of  present  disci- 
pline. If  an  officer  orders  a  volley,  will  the  soldiers 
obey  ?  The  whole  question  is  there.  Napoleon, 
daring  as  he  is.  and  accustomed  to  risk  all  for  all, 
has  never,  in  his  whole  adventurous  career,  engaged 
in  a  more  doubtful  game.  A  little  longer,  and  what 
will  he  be  ?  A  triumphant  Ca?sar,  saluted  by  his 
legionaries,  or  a  corpse  riddled  with  balls?  (Jod 
alone  knows. 

In  both  camps  the   night   of  March  6-7  has  been 


92  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

full  of  anxiety.  All  the  troops  garrisoned  in  Dau- 
phiny  and  the  part  of  Savoy  owned  by  France  —  that 
is  to  say,  the  7th  and  11th  of  the  Line,  the  3d  Engi- 
neers, the  4th  Artillery,  and  the  4th  Hussars  —  are 
concentrated  at  Grenoble  in  order  to  arrest  there  him 
whom  the  Royalists  call  the  Brigand  of  Elba.  Toward 
midnight  a  battalion  of  the  5th  of  the  Line  meets 
the  Polish  lancers  of  the  imperial  advance  guard  at 
La  Mure.  Both  expect  a  collision ;  but  Lessard,  the 
head  of  the  battalion  as  well  as  the  commander  of 
the  royal  advance  guard,  orders  his  troops  to  turn 
back  to  Laffrey,  a  little  village  two  leagues  from  La 
Mure  and  six  from  Grenoble,  which  it  enters  at  five 
in  the  morning.  On  his  part,  Cambronne,  commander 
of  the  imperial  advance  guard,  who  arrived  at  La 
Mure  in  the  night,  thinks  it  prudent  to  lead  his  men 
back  to  this  side  of  Ponthaut,  where  he  occupies  the 
bridge. 

At  dawn  Commandant  Lessard  finds  himself  at 
Laffrey,  with  a  battalion  of  the  5th  Lino  and  a  num- 
ber of  engineers  and  artillery-men,  in  a  position  be- 
tween lakes  and  mountains  very  easy  to  defend. 

At  nine  Napoleon  is  at  Ponthaut,  preparing  for  his 
onward  march,  with  that  imperturbable  calm  which 
lie  has  never  lost  in  the  greatest  crises  and  most  for- 
midable perils  of  his  stormy  destiny.  He  divides  his 
little  column  into  three  bodies.  Colonel  Mallet  takes 
command  of  the  three  companies  forming  the  advance 
guard.  The  Polish  lancers,  under  Colonel  Jer- 
manwski,    take    the    right   side    of   the    road.      The 


THE  IiETL'IiX   FROM  ELBA.  93 

officers  who  are  without  troops  take  the  left,  under 
Major  Pacconi.  Napoleon,  in  the  midst  of  the  ad- 
vance guard,  on  horseback,  wearing  the  famous  gray 
overcoat  and  the  broad  ribbon  of  the  Legion  of  Honor, 
and  attended  by  Generals  Bertrand,  Drouot,  and 
Cambronne,  goes  to  meet  the  Royalist  troops,  who 
have  remained  in  position  before  Laffrey,  between 
the  mountains  and  the  lakes. 

About  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  some  Polish 
lancers,  who  had  been  sent  ahead  to  sec  how  the 
land  lay,  try  to  open  a  parley  with  the  battalion  of 
the  5th  Line.  Commandant  Lessard  assures  them 
that  if  they  renew  the  attempt  he  will  lire  on  them. 

Napoleon  draws  near.  lie  descends  from  his 
horse.  "Tell  the  soldiers  to  put  their  weapons  under 
their  left  arms,  points  down,"  said  lie,  to  Colonel  Mal- 
let. "Sire,"  responds  the  Colonel,  "is  it  not  dan- 
gerous to  act  thus  in  presence  of  troops  whose 
sentiments  we  do  not  know,  and  whose  first  lire 
may  be  so  fatal'?*' 

The  Emperor  repeats:  "Mallet,  tell  them  to  put 
the  weapons  under  their  arms."  The  order  is  ex- 
ecuted. At  the  sides  of  the  road  mute  and  attentive 
peasants  watch  the  scene  about  to  take  place.  The 
two  battalions  are  not  more  than  a  pistol-shot  apart. 
The  silence  is  absolute:  profound  emotion  almost 
stops  the  breath. 

Napoleon  goes  forward  all  alone.  His  legendary 
profile  defines  itself  against  the  sky.  "  Present 
arms  !  "   commands   the  head  of  the  roval  battalion. 


94  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

The  guns  are  levelled  at  the  man  of  Austerlitz,  who, 
impassible,  continues  slowly  to  advance.  Arrived 
in  front  of  the  battalion,  he  raises  his  hand  to  his 
cap  and  salutes  ;  then,  in  a  strong  voice :  — 

"  Soldiers  of  the  5th,"  he  cries,  "  do  you  recognize 
me?" 

"  Yes,  yes,"  replies  some  one. 

Then  he  adds :  "  Soldiers,  behold  your  general ; 
behold  your  Emperor.  Let  any  one  of  you  who 
wishes  to  kill  him,  fire  !  " 

At  these  words  the  soldiers,  instead  of  firing,  throw 
themselves  down  on  their  knees.  They  kiss  Na- 
poleon's hands ;  they  call  him  father ;  they  utter 
frenzied  acclamations.  Their  shakos  wave  from  the 
tips  of  their  sabres  and  bayonets.  "  Everything  is 
over,"  said  Napoleon  to  Bertrand  and  Drouot.  "  In 
ten  days  we  shall  be  at  the  Tuileries." 

The  soldiers  trampled  under  foot  their  white 
cockades,  and  put  in  their  place  the  tricolored  ones, 
which  they  had  kept  at  the  bottom  of  their  knap- 
sacks. Before  taking  up  the  march  again,  the  Em- 
peror has  them  drawn  up  in  battle  array,  and  addresses 
this  allocution  to  them  :  "  Soldiers,  I  come  with  a 
handful  of  brave  men  because  I  count  on  the  people 
and  on  you.  The  throne  of  the  Bourbons  is  illegiti- 
mate, because  it  was  not  erected  by  the  nation ;  it  is 
contrary  to  the  national  will,  since  it  is  contrary  to 
the  interest  of  our  country,  and  only  exists  for  the 
profit  of  certain  families.  Ask  your  fathers  ;  ques- 
tion all  these  people  who  come  here  from  the  neigh- 


THE   RETURN   FROM  ELBA.  95 

borhood ;  you  will  learn  the  real  state  of  affairs  from 
their  lips.  They  are  threatened  with  a  return  of  the 
tithes,  the  privileges  and  rights  of  feudal  times,  and 
all  the  other  abuses  from  which  your  successes  had 
delivered  them."  At  this  moment  a  peasant  cries 
out,  "  Yes,  Sire ;  they  wish  to  attach  us  to  the  soil. 
You  come,  like  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  to  deliver  us." 

The  troops,  having  fraternized,  march  on  toward 
Grenoble,  the  Emperor  at  their  head.  The  throngs 
of  peasantry  constantly  grow  larger,  and  join  their 
shouts  to  those  of  the  soldiery.  They  reach  Vizille, 
where  the  enthusiasm  of  the  inhabitants  is  excessive. 
"  It  is  we,"  said  they,  "  who  first  dared  to  reclaim 
the  rights  of  man.  This  is  the  cradle  of  the  Revolu- 
tion ;  and  it  is  here  that  French  liberty  revives  again 
and  France  recovers  her  independence  and  her 
honor." 

Between  Vizille  and  Grenoble  they  see  a  regiment 
of  infantry  coming  toward  them.  It  is  the  7th  of  the 
Line,  commanded  by  Colonel  de  Labedoyere.  He  has 
left  Grenoble  to  meet  Napoleon.  lie  has  had  the 
eagle  of  the  regiment  taken  out  of  a  chest,  and,  bran- 
dishing his  sword  and  erring,  "Long  live  the  Em- 
peror!" he  had  said,  "Soldiers!  Those  who  love  me 
follow  me!"  The  soldiers  followed  him.  Napoleon 
and  the  Colonel  get  off  their  horses  at  the  same 
moment  and  throw  themselves  into  each  other's  arms. 
41  Colonel,"  says  the  Emperor,  "it  is  you  who  replace 
me  on  the  throne." 

The  reunited    troops,  amounting  to  nearly   three 


96  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

thousand  men,  march  to  Grenoble  escorted  by  several 
thousand  peasants.  The  Royalist  authorities  have 
closed  the  gates  of  the  city.  The  ramparts  are  cov- 
ered by  the  3d  regiment  of  Engineers,  consisting  of 
two  thousand  sappers,  veterans  whose  bodies  are  fur- 
rowed with  glorious  wounds  ;  by  the  4th  Artillery,  of 
which  the  Emperor  had  been  made  captain  twenty- 
five  years  before ;  by  two  battalions  of  the  5th  of  the 
Line ;  by  the  11th  of  the  Line  and  the  Hussars  of  the 
4th.  Advancing  before  the  ramparts,  Labedoyere, 
speaking  in  profound  darkness,  says :  "  Soldiers,  it 
is  I,  Labedoyere,  Colonel  of  the  7th.  We  bring  you 
Napoleon.  He  is  yonder.  It  is  for  you  to  receive 
him  and  to  repeat  with  us  the  rallying  cry  of  the  for- 
mer conquerors  of  Europe  :  Live  the  Emperor  !  "  The 
troops  on  the  ramparts  respond  by  an  immense  shout. 
Furious  at  finding  the  gates  of  the  city  closed,  they 
try  to  force  them  with  axes,  while,  on  the  outside, 
bands  of  peasants  are  busy  in  breaking  them  down. 
Under  this  double  strain  they  finally  give  way.  It 
is  nine  in  the  evening.  Two  human  streams  flow 
against  each  other.  Three  thousand  soldiers  and 
several  thousand  peasants  who  surround  Napoleon 
crowd  upon  the  drawbridge  at  the  risk  of  stifling 
their  sovereign  in  order  to  enter  with  him  into  the 
city.  Five  thousand  soldiers  of  the  garrison  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  Grenoble  precipi- 
tate themselves  toward  the  same  point  to  meet  the 
Emperor.  Flambeaux  and  torches  illuminate  this 
scene,  noisy   with  confusion  and  enthusiasm.     It  is 


THE  RETURy   FROM  ELBA.  97 


with  great  difficulty  that  Napoleon  forces  a  passage 
throuo-h  the  delirious  crowd  and  reaches  an  inn,  the 
Three  Dauphins,  where  he  spends  the  night. 

Wednesday,  March  8.  The  Emperor  stays  all  day 
at  Grenoble.  He  governs  there ;  he  reigns.  After 
receiving  the  city  authorities  he  reviews  the  troops  of 
the  garrison.  He  ascertains  with  joy  that  in  the  twin- 
kling of  an  eye  these  ten  thousand  men  have  resumed 
their  tricolored  cockades  —  cockades  old  and  soiled; 
for  when  they  were  obliged  to  take  them  off,  they 
had  hidden  them  at  the  bottom  of  their  knapsacks, 
hoping  to  put  them  on  again  some  day.  Some  of  the 
men,  as  they  pass  the  Emperor,  say:  "This  is  the 
same  we  wore  at  Austerlitz."  "This,"  say  others, 
"  we  had  at  Marengo." 

After  the  review  Napoleon  writes  to  Marie  Louise, 
announcing  his  happy  arrival  at  Grenoble  and  beg- 
ging her  to  rejoin  him  with  his  son  at  Paris,  where 
he  expects  soon  to  be.  This  letter  is  sent  to  Gen- 
eral de  Bubna,  commander  of  tin;  Austrian  troops 
at  Turin,  who  is  requested  to  transmit  it  to  the 
Empress. 

Thursday,  March  0.  The  Emperor,  who  slept  at 
Grenoble,  leaves  the  city  at  noon  with  a  small  army 
of  six  thousand  men,  and  goes  toward  Lyons.  His 
march  is  a  long  ovation.  As  he  is  fatigued,  he  travels 
slowly  in  an  open  carriage,  surrounded  bv  a  crowd  of 
peasants  singing  patriotic  songs.  "Ah!"  says  he, 
"  I  find  here  the  sentiments  which  twenty  years  ago 
made  me  salute   France  as  -the  great  nation.'     Yes, 


98  ELBA,   AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

you  are  still  the  great  nation.  You  will  alwaj^s  be 
so."     In  the  evening  he  sleeps  at  Bourgoin. 

Friday,  March  10.  At  Lyons  the  Royalists  despair 
of  arresting  the  Emperor's  progress.  The  garrison, 
composed  of  the  13th  Dragoons,  and  the  20th  and 
24th  of  the  Line,  will  not  remain  faithful  to  the 
King  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  Count  of  Artois 
and  the  Duke  of  Orleans.  They  had  come  from 
Paris  to  organize  resistance,  but  they  are  obliged  to 
take  to  flight.  Marshal  Macdonald  has  imitated 
them.  The  authorities  have  barricaded  the  bridge  at 
the  suburb  of  the  Guillotiere  with  pieces  of  wood, 
and  drawn  up  troops  upon  the  wharf.  But  the  mo- 
ment that  they  learn  of  the  arrival  of  the  Emperor, 
the  soldiers  destroy  the  barricade  and  throw  the  re- 
mains of  it  into  the  Rhone.  Napoleon  makes  a 
triumphal  entry  into  Lyons,  where  he  installs  himself 
in  the  Archbishop's  palace. 

Saturday,  March  11.  The  Emperor  reviews  the 
troops  in  the  Place  Bellecour,  and,  directly  after- 
wards, a  division  commanded  by  General  Brayer  sets 
off  on  its  march  toward  Paris.  Napoleon  writes 
another  letter  to  Marie  Louise,  announcing  that  he 
will  be  in  his  capital  on  March  20,  the  birthday  of 
the  King  of  Rome. 

Sunday,  March  12.  The  Emperor  spends  the  day 
at  Lyons  in  organizing  his  government.  Satisfied 
with  the  dispositions  of  its  inhabitants,  he  thanks 
them  in  these  words  :  "Lyonnese,  I  love  you." 

Monday,  March  13.  He  quits  Lyons  and  sleeps  at 
Macon. 


THE  liETURX   FROM  ELBA.  99 

Tuesday,  March  14.  He  continues  his  route  and 
goes  to  rest  at  Chalons-sur-SaGne.  The  same  day, 
at  Lons-le-Saulnier,  Marshal  Xey,  who  was  the  sole 
hope  of  the  Royalists,  and  who  had,  they  say.  promised 
Louis  XVIII.  to  bring  back  Napoleon  in  an  iron 
cage,  declares  for  the  imperial  cause  and  makes  a 
proclamation  to  his  soldiers  which  opens  thus :  "  The 
cause  of  the  Bourbons  is  lost  forever.*' 

Wednesday,  March  15.  The  Emperor  sleeps  at 
Autun. 

Thursday,  March  16.  He  rests  at  Avallon.  On 
the  same  day  Louis  XVIII.  holds  a  royal  seance  at 
Paris.  He  says  to  the  Chambers:  "I  have  once  more 
seen  my  country  ;  I  have  reconciled  it  with  foreign 
Powers  who  will,  I  beg  you  to  believe  it,  remain 
faithful  to  the  treaties  which  have  given  us  peace  ; 
I  have  labored  for  the  welfare  of  my  people  ;  I  have 
received,  I  receive  every  day,  the  most  touching 
proofs  of  their  affection.  At  sixty  years,  can  I  more 
worthily  terminate  my  career  than  by  dying  in  their 
defence?  I  fear  nothing,  then,  for  myself,  but  I  fear 
for  France.  He  who  is  coming  to  kindle  among  you 
the  torch  of  civil  war,  brings  also  the  seourge  of 
foreign  war;  he  comes  to  put  our  country  once  again 
beneath  his  iron  yoke:  he  comes,  in  fine,  to  destroy 
that  constitutional  charter  which  I  gave  you.  that 
charter  which  is  my  noblest  claim  to  the  esteem  of 
posterity,  that  charter  which  all  Frenchmen  cherish, 
and  which  I  swear  to  uphold.  Let  us  rally  about  it 
then."     While   the  King  is  yet  speaking,  a  passing 


100  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

cloud  wraps  the  hall  in  profound  gloom.  All  eyes 
turn  toward  the  ceiling  to  discover  the  cause  of  this 
sudden  night.  The  emotion  of  the  Royalists  reaches 
its  height,  and,  weeping,  they  cry :  "  Long  live  the 
King ! " 

Friday,  March  17.  Napoleon  continues  his  march 
without  obstacles,  and  passes  the  night  at  Auxerre. 

Saturday,  March  18.  In  this  city  he  is  rejoined 
by  Marshal  Ney.  "Embrace  me,  my  dear  Marshal," 
he  says  to  him.  "  There  is  no  need  to  excuse  your- 
self. Your  excuse,  like  mine,  is  the  course  of  events 
which  have  been  stronger  than  men.  Let  us  speak 
no  more  about  the  past,  but  think  only  how  to  re- 
trieve the  future." 

The  infantry  embarks  on  the  Yonne  in  time  to 
reach  Fontainebleau  in  the  morning  of  March  20. 
The  Emperor  enters  an  open  carriage  with  Bertrand 
and  Drouot  and  drives  thither. 

Palm  Sunday,  March  19.  At  Paris  Louis  XVIII. 
has  not  yet  announced  his  determination  to  take  to 
flight.  As  usual,  he  assists  at  Mass  in  the  chapel  of 
the  Tuileries.  During  the  day  he  reviews  his  military 
household  in  the  Champ-de-Mars.  Between  eleven 
o'clock  and  midnight,  some  travelling  carriages  are 
brought  into  the  courtyard  of  the  Tuileries  and  stop 
at  the  foot  of  the  stairway  of  the  Pavilion  of  Flora. 
Louis  XVIII.  comes  down,  and  begins  another  exile. 
The  weather  is  horrid  and  the  night  frightful.  The 
rain  falls  in  torrents ;  the  wind,  blowing  in  gusts,  ex- 
tinguishes the  lights,  which  look  like  funeral  torches. 


THE  RETURN   FROM  ELBA.  101 

During  the  day  Napoleon  has  continued  his  march. 

Monday-in-IIoly-Week,  March  20.  At  four  in  the 
morning  the  Emperor  arrives  at  Fontainebleau,  where, 
exactly  eleven  months  before,  he  had  taken  his  mem- 
orable farewell  of  the  Imperial  Guard  in  the  court  of 
the  Cheval-Blanc.  Seeing  this  court  once  more ; 
climbing  the  steps  of  the  great  stone  stairway  he 
had  descended  on  April  20,  1814,  without  knowing 
whether  he  would  ever  remount  them;  entering  the 
chamber  where  he  had  vainly  sought  in  suieide  a 
refuge  against  his  mental  sufferings,  he  experienced 
a  sentiment  of  profound  joy,  and  said  to  himself, 
"This  is  my  revenge."  At  seven  in  the  morning  he 
receives  from  M.  de  Lavalette,  who  lias  just  resumed 
the  direction  of  the  post-oflice  at  Paris,  a  despatch 
announcing  the  departure  of  Louis  XVIII.  He  re- 
solves to  spend  the  night  at  the  Tuileries  to  celebrate 
the  birthday  of  the  King  of  Rome. 

What  is  happening  at  Paris?  On  awaking,  the 
people  do  not  vet  know  that  Louis  XVIII.  has  fled. 
From  early  morning  crowds  flock  toward  the  Tuile- 
ries. A  detachment  of  the  National  Guard  is  still 
at  the  palace,  and  the  white  flag  is  floating  on  the 
dome  of  the  Pavilion  of  the  Ilorloge.  Some  liveried 
domestics  are  in  sight,  but  no  body-guards.  Soon 
the  news  of  the  King's  flight  is  bruited  about,  and 
as  the  gratings  of  the  palace  are  closed,  some  Bona- 
partists  try  to  force  them,  but  do  not  succeed. 

At  Saint-Denis  the  half-pay  officers,  who  are  warm 
partisans  of  the  Fmperor,  assemble  under  the  orders 


102  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

of  General  Exelmans.  They  persuade  several  de- 
tachments of  infantry,  a  battery  of  artillery,  and  a 
squadron  of  cuirassiers  to  join  them,  and  putting  on 
the  tricolored  cockade,  they  march  toward  Paris. 
At  two  in  the  afternoon  there  they  are,  debouching 
into  the  Place  of  the  Carrousel.  At  first  the  Na- 
tional Guard  refuse  to  open  the  Tuileries  to  them, 
but  they  insist,  and  General  Exelmans  says  that 
since  the  King  is  in  flight  and  the  entire  army  has 
declared  for  the  Emperor,  resistance  will  be  useless. 
The  gratings  are  opened,  and  the  white  flag  on  the 
Pavilion  of  the  Horloge  is  replaced  by  the  tricolor. 
General  Exelmans  and  his  soldiery,  masters  of  the 
Palace  of  the  Tuileries,  wait  there  for  Napoleon. 

Almost  at  the  same  moment  the  Emperor  at  Fon- 
tainebleau  gets  into  a  carriage  with  Caulaincourt, 
Drouot,  and  Bertrand,  and  drives  toward  the  capital, 
retarded  somewhat  by  troops  coming  to  rejoin  him, 
and  crowds  of  people  who  greet  him  with  cries  of 

At  Paris  the  day  is  spent  in  waiting.  Evening 
comes,  and  as  the  weather  is  bad,  the  crowds  dimin- 
ish. People  go  home  to  dinner.  Everybody  says  : 
"  It  is  late,  and  the  Emperor  will  not  come  until 
to-morrow."  However,  the  high  officials  of  the 
Empire  and  their  wives  have  come  to  the  Tuileries, 
the  men  in  uniform,  and  the  ladies  in  full  dress. 
The  palace  is  illuminated  as  if  for  a  fete.  The  lilies 
are  torn  from  the  tapestries  and  the  bees  reappear. 
Queen  Ilortense,  King  Joseph's  wife,  and  the  maids 


THE  RETURN   FROM  ELBA.  103 

of  honor  of  Marie  Louise  are  in  the  salons.  Toward 
nine  o'clock  they  hear  a  great  noise :  it  is  the  Em- 
peror coming.  Entering  Paris  by  the  Gate  of  Italy, 
lie  has  followed  the  exterior  boulevards  as  far  as  the 
Invalides,  crossed  the  Pont  de  la  Concorde,  and  gone 
along  the  quay  to  the  first  gate  of  the  Tuileries. 
Frenzied  acclamations  resound  on  all  sides,  as  his 
carriage,  surrounded  by  cavalry  officers,  enters  the 
courtyard  of  the  palace.  Inebriated  with  joy,  mad 
with  enthusiasm,  the  half-pay  officers  fling  themselves 
before  their  sovereign,  tear  him  from  his  carriage  and 
bear  him  on  their  arms,  a  living  shield;  kissing  his 
hands,  embracing  the  skirts  of  his  gray  overcoat, 
they  drag  him  thus,  in  their  delirium,  to  the  foot  of 
the  great  stairway.  It  is  only  then  that  his  feet  are 
permitted  to  touch  the  ground.  The  shouts  redouble 
until  the  very  roof  of  the  palace  trembles  with  them. 
Men  press  upon,  they  stifle  each  other.  Two  currents 
meet  on  the  stairway :  one  that  descends  to  meet 
Napoleon ;  one  that  tries  to  ascend  the  steps.  The 
Duke  of  Vicenza,  who  is  behind  the  Emperor  with 
Bertrand  and  Drouot,  recognizes  Lavalette  in  the 
crowd  coming  down  from  the  first  landing.  "In 
God's  name,''  he  cries,  "  get  in  front  of  him  so  that 
he  can  proceed."  Lavalette  puts  himself  face  to 
face  with  Napoleon  and  going  upstairs  backward,  one 
step  ahead  of  his  master,  succeeds  in  opening  a 
passage  for  him.  "  What !  it  is  you,"  he  says,  "  it 
is  you!  it  is  you  at  last!"  The  Emperor  sheds 
tears   of  joy.     He  re-enters  his  chamber:   last  night 


104  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

Louis  XVIII.  had  occupied  it.  The  prediction  is 
accomplished.  In  twenty  days,  from  the  Bay  of 
Juan,  the  imperial  eagle  has  flown,  without  once 
stopping,  from  steeple  to  steeple,  even  to  the  towers 
of  Notre  Dame,  even  to  the  dome  of  the  Palace  of 
the  Tuileries. 

The  next  day,  March  21,  at  one  in  the  afternoon, 
Napoleon  reviews  in  the  Carrousel  the  soldiers  who 
were  at  Paris,  and  the  battalion  from  Elba,  which 
had  just  accomplished  a  march  that,  for  rapidity,  has 
perhaps  no  parallel  in  history.  Causing  the  officers 
of  this  battalion  to  approach,  and  showing  them  to 
the  troops,  the  Emperor  exclaims :  "  Soldiers,  behold 
the  officers  who  accompanied  me  in  my  misfortunes ; 
all  of  them  are  my  friends,  all  are  dear  to  my  heart. 
Each  time  that  I  saw  them  I  seemed  to  see  the  army 
itself.  Their  presence  recalled  to  me  those  immortal 
days  which  will  never  be  effaced  from  your  memories 
nor  from  mine.  In  loving  them  I  love  you.  They 
have  brought  back  to  you,  untouched  and  forever 
glorious,  those  eagles  which  for  one  moment  treason 
had  covered  with  a  funeral  pall.  Soldiers,  I  give 
them  back  to  you.  Swear  to  me  that  you  will  fol- 
low them  wherever  the  interests  of  our  country  call 
them.*'  The  soldiers  answered,  "We  swear  it." 
On  the  same  day,  the  organizer  of  the  republican 
armies,  the  famous  Conventionist  Carnot,  is  named 
Count  of  the  Empire  and  Minister  of  the  Interior. 

On  March  25,  Napoleon  again  reviews  the  troops 
in  the  courtyard  of  the   Tuileries.     "How  mad  they 


TUE  RETURN   FROM  ELBA.  105 

were,"  says  he  to  them,  "  and  how  little  they  knew 
the  nation,  who  believed  that  Frenchmen  would  ever 
consent  to  receive  a  prince  from  the  same  hands  that 
had  laid  waste  our  territory  and,  aided  by  treachery, 
for  a  moment  touched  our  laurels!  The  Bourbon 
throne  is  as  incompatible  with  the  new  interests  of 
the  French  people  as  it  is  with  their  glory.  Soldiers, 
I  wish  to  give,  in  your  presence,  a  special  testimony 
of  my  satisfaction  with  the  brave  garrison  of  Grenoble. 
I  know  well  that  every  French  regiment  would  have 
done  as  they  did.  So,  too,  I  must  avow  my  gratitude 
to  that  courageous  battalion  of  the  5th,  and  that 
company  of  miners  who,  placed  in  a  defile,  came  as 
one  man  to  surround  their  Emperor  who  had  offered 
himself  to  their  fire.  They  have  merited  well  from 
the  French  nation,  and  from  me  and  you."  Inter- 
rupted by  huzzas,  Napoleon  added  only  these  words: 
"Soldiers,  you  will  lie  always  faithful  to  the  great 
cause  of  the  people,  to  the  honor  of  France  and  to 
your  Emperor." 

The  next  day,  which  was  Easter  Sunday,  March  "20, 
Marshal  Ney  gave  a  dinner  at  Lille  to  the  generals 
and  superior  ollicers  of  the  garrison.  The  following 
toasts  were  drunk.  By  the  Marshal:  "To  the  Em- 
peror Napoleon,  our  august  sovereign  !  May  this 
name,  cherished  by  the  whole  army,  be  forever  the 
rallying  eiy  of  all  good  Frenchmen!  Live  the  Em- 
peror!" By  General  Count  d'Erlon :  "To  Her 
Majesty,  the  Empress!  On  her  return  to  us  may  she 
find  in  the  vivacity  of  our  joy,  the  expression  of  the 


10G  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

love  borne  towards  her  by  the  French,  and  the  regrets 
caused  by  her  absence !  "  By  General  Duhesrae  :  "  To 
the  Prince  Imperial !  May  this  august  child,  the 
source  of  so  many  hopes,  long  flourish  under  the 
guidance  of  his  father,  and  inherit  his  great  qualities 
for  the  welfare  and  the  glory  of  France  !  " 

On  March  31,  the  Emperor  visited  the  imperial 
institution  of  Saint-Denis,  devoted  to  the  education 
of  the  daughters  of  members  of  the  Legion  of  Honor. 
He  arrived  unannounced.  "  It  was  a  touching  spec- 
tacle," said  the  Moniteur,  "  to  see  the  Emperor  sur- 
rounded by  five  hundred  young  girls  whose  fathers 
had  either  died  on  the  field  of  battle  or  come  back 
from  it  with  honorable  wounds.  One  understands 
the  sentiment  which  made  His  Majesty  say  to  the 
superintendent,  '  You  did  not  expect  me  ;  but  you 
might  have  known  that  my  first  visit  would  be  to  my 
imperial  House  of  Saint-Denis.'  " 

At  Paris,  on  Sunday,  April  2,  there  was  a  grand 
military  fete  in  the  Champ-de-Mars,  given  by  the 
Imperial  Guard  to  the  Parisian  National  Guard  and 
the  soldiers  of  the  garrison. 

About  two  in  the  afternoon  nearly  fifteen  thousand 
men  of  all  equipments  dined  in  the  open  air  on  the 
Champ-de-Mars,  the  slopes  of  which  were  filled  by  an 
immense  crowd.  The  bands  played  and  the  guests 
sang.  The  cry  "Long  live  the  Emperor !"  broke  in 
constantly  like  a  refrain.  In  the  galleries  and  salons 
of  the  Military  School,  the  generals  and  other  officers 
likewise  sat  down  to  a  generous  banquet.     The  bust 


THE  RETURN  FROM  ELBA.  107 

of  Napoleon  was  surrounded  by  emblems  of  victory. 
At  dessert,  when  all  present  had  drunk  to  the  health 
of  the  Emperor,  the  Empress,  and  the  Prince  Imperial, 
and  discharges  of  artillery  were  responding  to  the 
toasts,  the  guests,  animated  by  a  sudden  and  sponta- 
neous movement,  drew  their  swords  from  their  scab- 
bards, and  waving  them  in  air,  renewed  the  oath  to 
conquer  or  to  die  for  their  Emperor  and  their  country. 
"  To  the  column  !  to  the  column  !  "  cried  a  voice,  and 
the  heroic  crowd  took  up  the  cry.  In  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye  an  immense  procession  of  officers,  soldiers, 
national  guards  and  citizens  were  formed,  and  the 
bands  of  the  Imperial  Guard  preceded  them.  An  offi- 
cer carried  Napoleon's  bust.  They  turned  toward  the 
Tuileries,  and  when  they  reached  the  garden,  they 
stopped  under  the  Emperor's  cabinet  windows  and 
hurrahed  for  him  until  he  appeared  and  thanked 
them.  Then,  going  to  the  Place  Vendome,  they 
hoisted  the  bust  to  the  summit  of  the  column,  and 
encircled  the  pedestal  with  a  garland  of  lights.  The 
windows  of  every  house  in  the  square  were  at  once 
illuminated  as  if  by  enchantment. 

In  his  book  on  Lucien  Bonaparte,  Colonel  Jung 
says:  "  The  movement  of  1815  was  admirable  for  its 
ardor  and  patriotism.  There  is  nothing  like  it  in  the 
history  of  France,  except  that  of  1792,  at  the  time 
of  the  departure  of  the  volunteers  for  the  frontier/' 
And  yet,  despite  so  many  testimonies  of  enthusiasm, 
Napoleon  was  melancholy.  When  the  first  intoxica- 
tion of  success  was  over,  he  doubted  his  good  luck. 


108  ELBA,   AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

He  was  ill  at  ease  in  his  new  role  as  a  constitutional 
monarch.  What  suited  him  was  not  liberty,  but  glory. 
He  was  like  a  lion  who  has  let  his  claws  be  cut  and 
his  teeth  pulled  out,  and  to  whom  nothing  but  his 
mane  is  left.  In  his  bureau  drawers  he  found  protes- 
tations of  devotion  addressed  to  Louis  XVIII.  by  the 
very  men  who  were  now  most  vociferous  in  their  cries 
of  "  Live  the  Emperor !  " 

On  March  8,  Marshal  Soult  had  written  in  an  order 
of  the  day :  "  Bonaparte  misapprehends  us  so  much 
as  to  believe  that  we  could  abandon  a  legitimate  and 
beloved  sovereign  in  order  to  share  the  fate  of  a  mere 
adventurer.  He  believes  it,  the  madman!  II is  last 
act  of  lunacy  serves  to  make  him  known."  And  now 
Marshal  Soult  was  figuring  in  the  first  rank  of  the 
Emperor's  courtiers. 

In  the  Debats  of  March  10,  Benjamin  Constant  had 
published  an  article  in  which  these  words  occur: 
"He  reappears  at  the  extremity  of  our  frontier,  this 
man  reddened  with  our  blood  and  but  lately  followed 
by  our  unanimous  maledictions.  .  .  .  Parisians,  I  have 
seen  that  liberty  is  possible  under  the  monarchy;  I 
have  seen  the  King  unite  himself  to  the  nation.  I  will 
not  drag  myself,  a  wretched  renegade,  from  one  power 
to  another;  I  will  not  cover  infamy  by  sophisms,  nor 
stammer  profane  words  in  order  to  buy  a  shameful 
life."  And  now  Benjamin  Constant  has  accepted  an 
appointment  as  Councillor  of  State  from  the  Em- 
peror. Napoleon  is  indulgent  to  all  men  who  change 
their  opinions;  he  has  himself  been  by  turns  a  Royal- 


THE  RETURN   FROM  ELBA.  109 

ist.  a  Republican,  an  Imperialist,  that  is  to  say.  an 
Emperor.  Recantations  and  apostasies  may  aillict 
him,  but  his  knowledge  of  the  human  heart  is  too 
profound  for  him  to  be  astonished  by  them.  It  seems 
to  him  that  France  is  an  actress  who,  at  every  instant, 
changes  her  costume  and  her  part  without  remorse. 
There  is  not  time  enough  to  tear  off  either  the  bees 
or  the  lilies  from  the  escutcheons. 

The  functionaries  who  have  just  been  resuming  the 
tricolored  coekade  with  so  much  zeal  have  probably 
taken  care  to  hide  the  white  one  in  a  safe  place,  for 
sooner  or  later  it  is  like  enough  to  reappear.  Oaths 
are  taken  only  from  the  tip  of  the  tongue;  it  is  ;i 
simple  formality.  Napoleon  knows  all  that  :  he  knows 
also  that  Success  is  the  god  of  France,  and  he  says 
to  himself  anxiously.  "  Shall  I  succeed?"  This  im- 
mense Palace  of  the  Tuileries,  where  lie  finds  neither 
wite  nor  son,  has  lost  its  prestige  for  him,  and  is 
••only  a  sad  and  melancholy  abode."  In  the  depths 
of  his  sold  he  compares  the  20th  of  March.  1815, 
with  the  :10th  of  March.  1811.  The  son's  cradle  lias 
not  been  more  solid  than  the  father's  throne.  The 
child  is  exiled  and  proscribed.  Xow  that  the  Pope 
has  triumphantly  re-entered  the  Fternal  City,  the  title 
nt  "King  nt  Rome"  has  an  ironic  ring.  It  was  an 
inlant  s  toy,  this  royalty  of  a  daw  and  behold,  the  toy 
is  broken.  Napoleon  may  still  be  Fmperor,  but  what 
has  become  of  the  crown  of  Italv.  that  iron  crown,  of 
which  he  had  said  so  proudly  under  the  vaulted  roof 
of  Milan  cathedral :   "(iod  has  Given  it  tome:   woe 


110  ELBA,    AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

to  him  who  touches  it ! "  And  the  pompous  title  of 
Protector  of  the  Rhine  Confederation,  what  has  be- 
come of  that  ?  Where  are  the  German  vassals  of  him 
who  was  but  now  a  Charlemagne  ?  How  lugubri- 
ously they  sound  in  the  ears  of  a  conqueror,  those 
words,  "  Diminution,  decadence  ! "  Perhaps  he  rec- 
ognized more  fully  at  the  Tuileries  than  he  had  done 
at  Elba,  his  change  of  fortune ;  perhaps  he  is  there 
more  saddened  by  the  clouds  which  hide  the  shining 
of  his  star. 


VIII. 

MARIE   LOUISE   DURING   THE    HUNDRED   DAYS. 

WHILE  Napoleon,  greeted  by  enthusiastic  accla- 
mations, was  marching  as  a  victor  from  Gre- 
noble to  the  Tuileries,  the  cries  of  fury  which 
resounded  against  him  in  Vienna  and  throughout 
all  Germany  never  ceased  to  strike  the  ears  of  his 
unfaithful  spouse.  It  was  not  with  pleasure  that 
Marie  Louise  learned  that  the  Emperor  had  quitted 
Elba,  but  with  fear.  Apprised  of  the  news  on  coming 
in  from  a  walk,  she  seemed  at  first  to  ignore  it.  At 
Schoenbrunn  everything  went  on  that  evening  just 
as  usual,  —  dinner,  music,  billiards.  But  the  next 
day,  when  the  great  event  became  known  to  the 
French  members  of  her  household,  it  awakened 
emotions  so  keen  that  one  of  the  officials  thought  it 
his  duty  to  issue  an  order  of  the  day  prohibiting 
all  remarks  upon  the  burning  subject.  Marie  Louise 
herself  broke  the  silence.  Her  words  betrayed  the 
trouble  of  her  mind.  She  said  the  dangers  which 
the  Emperor  was  incurring  disquieted  her  extremely ; 
she  wafj  sure  he  would  not  succeed;  her  own  situation 

m 


112  ELBA,    AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

would  become  still  more  painful.  Her  uncle,  the 
Archduke  John,  Viceroy  of  Italy,  is  credited  with 
saying  to  her,  "  My  poor  Louise,  I  pity  you ;  what 
I  should  like  for  you  and  for  us,  too,  is  that  your 
husband  should  break  his  neck." 

Nevertheless,  the  prisoner  of  the  Coalition  had 
for  a  short  time  some  inclination  to  better  senti- 
ments. When  the  Austrian  Emperor  was  certain  that 
Napoleon  had  gone  to  France,  and  not  to  Italy,  as 
was  at  first  believed,  his  anger  moderated,  and  he  told 
his  daughter  that  if,  contrary  to  all  expectation,  her 
husband  should  succeed,  perhaps  she  would  be  per- 
mitted to  rejoin  him  in  case  a  pacific  polic}^  should 
prevail.  Then  began  an  internal  struggle  in  her 
breast.  According  to  M.  de  Meneval,  the  confidant 
of  her  inward  anxieties  and  fluctuations,  she  would 
declare  one  day  that  she  would  never  return  to 
France  because  she  could  see  no  hope  of  repose  for 
that  country;  on  the  next  she  would  say  that  if  her 
husband  renounced  all  projects  of  conquest  and  would 
reign  peacefully,  she  was  convinced  that  no  obstacle 
would  be  interposed  to  her  return,  and  she  would 
herself  have  no  repugnance  against  it,  because  she 
had  always  felt  a  liking  for  the  French. 

Napoleon's  canst',  then,  was  not  absolutely  despe- 
rate at  Vienna,  at  least  during  the  early  days  of 
March.  But  in  making  his  calculations  he  had  for- 
gotten a  Frenchman  more  pitiless  toward  him  than 
the  most  ruthless  of  the  foreigners  resolved  on  his 
destruction.     This  was  the  man  whom   he  had  cov- 


MARIE  LOUISE  DURING  THE  HUNDRED  DA  VS.    113 

ered  —  nay,  overwhelmed  —  with  benefits;  the  ruined, 
unfrocked  priest  of  whom  he  had  made  a  minister, 
a  prince,  a  great  dignitary  of  the  Empire.  The  same 
Talleyrand  who  had  longed  to  exile  his  former  sov- 
ereign to  the  Azores,  bound  up  once  more  the 
fagot  of  the  Coalition  and  reconstructed  the  Holy 
Alliance,  despite  the  antagonism  existing  between 
the  Cabinets  of  Vienna  and  Saint  Petersburg.  On 
March  13,  1815,  the  same  day  on  which  Napoleon, 
greeted  with  joy  by  the  army  and  the  people,  left 
Lyons  to  continue  his  triumphant  march  to  the  Tui- 
leries,  his  former  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  had  suc- 
ceeded  in  obtaining  the  signatures  of  the  Powers  to 
the  declaration  of  March  13  —  that  diatribe  wherein 
lie  said,  in  most  undiplomatic  language,  a  medley 
of  hate  and  terror :"  In  breaking  the  agreement  by 
which  he  had  been  established  at  the  Island  of  Elba, 
Bonaparte  destroyed  bis  sole  legal  title  to  existence. 
P>v  reappearing  in  France,  bent  on  projects  of  con- 
vulsion and  dissension,  he  has  proved,  in  the  face  of 
the  universe,  that  there  can  be  neither  peace  nor 
truce  with  him.  The  Powers  declare,  in  conse- 
quence, that  Napoleon  Bonaparte  is  placed  outside 
of  all  relations,  both  civil  and  social,  and  that,  as  an 
enemv  and  disturber  of  the  peace  of  the  world,  he  is 
handed  over  to  public  vengeance."  The  day  after, 
Talleyrand  wrote  thus  to  M.  de  Jaucourt  concerning 
this  savage  document,  a  soil  of  encouragement  to 
assassination,  whose  violence  the  Powers  themselves 
speedily  regretted:  -My  dear  friend,  I  send  the  King 


114  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

the  declaration  of  which  I  spoke  yesterday.  It  is 
very  strong ;  no  document  of  such  force  and  impor- 
tance has  ever  been  signed  by  all  the  sovereigns  of 
Europe." 

On  the  same  day,  March  14,  Talleyrand  addressed 
the  following  paper  to  Louis  XVIII.  It  was  printed 
at  Vienna,  and  spread  broadcast  throughout  Germany, 
under  the  title,  Warning  to  the  Nations  :  — 

"  Bonaparte  no  longer  desires  to  reign  save  for  the 
welfare  of  the  Jacobins.  He  contents  himself  with 
the  actual  boundaries  of  France,  and  proposes  to  live 
in  peace  with  the  rest  of  Europe.  As  surety  he 
offers :  1st.  The  grapeshot  wherewith  he  destroyed 
the  Sections  of  Paris.  2d.  The  poisoning  of  the  hos- 
pitals in  Egypt.  3d.  The  assassination  of  Pichegru. 
4th.  The  murder  of  the  Duke  of  Enghien.  5th.  The 
oaths  tnken  to  the  French  Republic.  6th.  His  re- 
peated assaults  upon  all  the  governments  of  Europe. 
7th.  The  spoliation  of  churches  in  Russia  and  Spain. 
8th.  His  escape  from  Elba.  9th.  The  organization 
of  three  thousand  battalions  of  the  National  Guard  to 
replace  the  conscription.  10th.  The  violation  of  every 
treaty  he  has  signed,  including  that  of  Fontainebleau. 
11th.  The  abolition  of  collective  rights  in  favor  of 
public  enthusiasm." 

At  this  very  time  there  was  circulating  in  Ger- 
many a  work  by  Maurice  Arndt,  entitled  a  Catechism 
for  German  Soldiers  and  Military  Men,  in  which 
instructions  were  given  concerning  the  duties  of  a 
Christian  warrior.     Its  sixth  chapter  ran  thus:  — 


MARIE  LOUISE  DURING  THE  HUNDRED  DAYS.    115 

"  Concerning  the  Great  Tyrant. 

"  And  the  abyss  is  open,  saith  the  Lord,  and  hell 
has  vomited  its  poison  and  set  free  its  venomous 
serpents. 

"  And  a  monster  is  born,  an  abomination  soiled 
with  blood  has  risen  up. 

"  And  his  name  is  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  a  name  of 
desolation,  a  name  of  woe,  a  name  of  malediction  for 
widows  and  orphans,  a  name  which  will  resound  at 
the  day  of  judgment  amid  outcries  of  despair. 

"  And  yet  man)'  have  adored  him,  and  made  him 
the  idol  of  their  soul ;  they  have  named  him  the 
Saviour,  the  Liberator,  the  Man  who  comes  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  to  redeem  the  world. 

"And  yet  I  know  him  not,  saith  God;  I  have 
reproved  him  and  I  will  reprove  him,  and  there 
shall  be  in  him  neither  felicity,  nor  salvation,  nor 
liberty. 

"But  he  has  become  powerful  by  lying;  he  has 
built  up  his  throne  by  murder  and  by  treachery;  and 
it  is  a  sign  of  the  times,  and  the  mark  of  the  sins  of 
the  children  of  men,  and  it  proves  how  far  they  have 
wandered  from  the  way  of  justice,  that  they  have 
called  it  deliverance  from  oppression. 

"  Arise,  ye  peoples!  Slay  him,  for  I  have  cursed 
him ;  destroy  him,  for  he  is  the  destroyer  of  liberty 
and  law." 

This  appeal  to  murder  proves  to  what  a  pitch  of 
hatred  German  wrath  had  risen  against  the  man 
returned   from    Elba.     Marie   Louise    heard    nothing 


11G  ELBA,    AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

but  imprecations  against  her  husband,  and  the  Ger- 
manic sentiments  of  her  childhood  and  early  youth 
awakened  anew,  and,  perhaps,  in  her  own  despite,  in 
the  depths  of  her  soul.  On  March  12,  the  eve  of  the 
declaration  of  the  Powers,  she  caused  General  Neip- 
perg,  who  constantly  grew  more  influential  with  her, 
to  write  to  Prince  Metternich  that  she  had  no  part 
in  Napoleon's  projects,  and  placed  herself  under  the 
protection  of  the  Allies.  From  that  moment  she 
decided  irrevocably  never  to  return  to  France. 

Napoleon,  on  the  other  hand,  was  striving  with  all 
his  might  to  regain  possession  of  his  wife  and  son, 
whom  be  was  awaiting  at  Paris  with  extreme  im- 
patience. The  Duke  of  Vicenza,  his  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  tried  in  vain  to  renew  relations  with 
the  Powers,  and  especially  with  Austria.  General 
Baron  de  Vincent,  who  represented  Vienna  at  the 
Court  of  Louis  XVIII.,  demanded  his  passport  on 
March  22.  Nevertheless,  he  consented  to  have  a 
secret  and  private  interview  with  the  Duke  of 
Vicenza  at  tin;  house  of  Madame  de  Souza  before 
leaving  Paris.  The  Duke  tried  in  vain  to  plead 
his  master's  cause.  All  he  could  obtain  was  that  one 
of  the  secretaries  of  the  Austrian  Embassy,  M.  de 
Rechtembourg,  who  was  going  to  Vienna,  should 
carry  thither  two  letters  from  Napoleon,  —  one  to 
bis  wife,  and  the  other  to  bis  father-in-law,  —  also  a 
letter  for  Prince  Metternich.  These  letters  reached 
their  destination.  But,  being  submitted  to  the  Con- 
gress,  they   were   as   barren    of   results   as   had  been 


MARIE  LOUISE  DURING  THE  HUNDRED  DAYS.    117 


those  addressed  to  Marie  Louise  from  Grenoble  and 
Lyons  by  her  husband. 

Meanwhile  an  unceasingly  annoying  vigilance  was 
exercised  over  the  lew  French  attendants  who  re- 
mained near  the  former  Empress.  All  communica- 
tion with  France  was  rigorously  interdicted;  not 
even  a  French  newspaper  reached  Vienna.  The  iron 
ring  tightened  daily  about  Marie  Louise- — for  that 
matter,  she  had  become  the  accomplice  of  her  jailers. 

On  March  20,  1815,  the  very  day  on  which  Napo- 
leon re-entered  the  Tuileries  to  celebrate  there  the 
birthday  of  the  King  of  Rome,  the  child  was  torn 
from  the  arms  of  his  governess,  the  virtuous  and 
devoted  Countess  of  Montesquiou,  who  had  never 
quitted  him  since  the  hour  when  he  came  into  the 
world,  and  who  had  always  given  him  the  care  and 
affection  of  a  mother.  Talleyrand  wrote  thus  to 
Louis  XVIII.  on  that  date:  — 

"Sire:  The  Emperor  Francis  has  just  ordered 
Madame  de  Montesquiou  to  deliver  up  to  him  the 
child  whom  she  has  had  in  charge.  Her  language 
under  existing  circumstances  has  been  so  opposed 
to  tin1  resolutions  taken  by  Austria  and  the  other 
Powers,  that  the  Emperor  is  unwilling  to  permit 
her  to  remain  any  longer  near  his  grandson.  To- 
morrow she  should  receive  the  order  to  return  to 
France.  The  child  will  live  in  the  palace  at  Vienna, 
where  he  will  be  guarded  from  the  abduction  which 
certain  circumstances  have  made  it  seem  probable 
will  be  attempted." 


118  ELBA,   AND    THE  HUN  DEED    DAYS. 

Madame  de  Montesquiou's  crime  in  the  eyes  of 
the  implacable  Coalition  was  to  have  remained  faith- 
ful to  her  benefactor ;  to  have  continued  to  speak 
of  the  great  Napoleon  before  the  little  one  ;  to  have 
said  to  the  child,  morning  and  evening,  "  Monseign- 
eur,  pray  for  your  father."  The  despair  of  Mamma 
Quiou,  as  the  King  of  Rome  called  her,  was  very 
great.  She  obliged  her  persecutors  themselves  to 
give  proofs  of  their  esteem  for  her.  In  protesting 
against  the  violence  which  deprived  her  of  the  func- 
tions she  had  fulfilled  with  so  much  zeal,  she  obtained 
a  written  order  from  the  Emperor  Francis,  and  a 
medical  certificate  attesting  that  she  left  her  pupil  in 
perfect  health.  But  she  demanded  in  vain  that  the 
Vienna  Gazette  should  publish  a  formal  denial  of  the 
pretended  plot  for  carrying  off  the  young  Prince, 
which  had  been  attributed  to  her  son,  Colonel  Ana- 
tole  de  Montesquiou. 

At  this  moment  there  was  a  person  of  whom  Marie 
Louise  was  thinking  much  more  than  of  her  husband 
or  her  son.  It  was  General  Neipperg,  who  was  pre- 
paring to  go  to  war  witli  Murat,  who  had  once  more 
become  the  ally  of  France  and  Napoleon.  Furious 
at  having  been  juggled  with  by  Austria,  which,  after 
guaranteeing  him  his  throne,  had  declared  for  a  res- 
toration of  the  Bourbons,  lie  had  sincerely  repented 
of  his  conduct.  On  December  7,  1814,  his  represen- 
tative at  Vienna,  the  Duke  of  Campo-Chiaro,  had 
remitted  to  Prince  Talleyrand  a  note  in  these  terms: 
"The   King  of  Naples  was  a  party  to  the  Coalition 


MARIE  LOUISE  DURING  THE  HUNDRED  DAYS.    119 

whose  efforts  and  success  have  placed  Louis  XVIII. 
on  the  throne  of  France  ;  his  adhesion  to  this  Coali- 
tion was  not  without  utility  to  the  common  cause. 
The  King  of  Naples  has  the  right,  therefore,  to 
expect  amicable  relations  with  the  house  of  Bourbon 
for  which  lie  finds  that  he  has  contended.  Austria 
stipulated  not  only  for  itself,  but  for  the  Allies  in 
the  treaty  concluded  May  30,  1814,  and  the  King  of 
Naples  had  a  solemn  treaty  with  Austria  which  was 
known  to  all  Europe.'' 

Murat  very  soon  understood  that  he  had  made  a 
mistake  in  abandoning  his  brother-in-law  and  the 
French,  companions  of  his  exploits.  The  Princess 
Pauline  Borghese,  arriving  at  Naples  from  the  Island 
of  Elba,  reconciled  him  with  Napoleon,  and  ever 
since  November,  1814,  he  had  said  of  the  eleven 
hundred  soldiers  the  Emperor  had  with  him  there, 
"  They  are  the  nucleus  of  five  hundred  thousand." 
On  March  24,  1815,  he  wrote  to  Napoleon  :  "  I  learn 
with  inexpressible  joy  that  Your  Majesty  has  landed 
on  the  shores  of  the  Empire.  I  should  have  been 
glad  to  have  received  some  instruction  concerning 
the  co-operation  of  my  movements  in  Italy  with  yours 
in  France.  .  .  .  Sire,  I  have  never  ceased  to  be  your 
friend.  I  simply  waited  for  a  favorable  occasion.  It 
has  come,  and  now  I  am  going  to  prove  that  I  was 
always  faithful,  and  to  justify  in  your  eyes  and  in 
those  of  all  Europe,  the  opinion  you  conceived  of 
me.  On  any  other  occasion,  I  should  have  sacrificed 
mvself  in  vain."' 


120  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

When  General  Neipperg  left  Vienna,  on  April  1, 
1815,  to  begin  the  war  with  Murat,  Napoleon's  ally, 
Marie  Louise,  whose  sympathies  were  no  longer 
French,  certainly  desired  the  success  of  Austria,  and 
especially  of  the  Austrian  general.  He  wrote  volu- 
minous letters  to  her  who  had  ceased  all  correspond- 
ence with  her  husband.  The  Machiavelian  policy  of 
the  Coalition  had  borne  its  fruits.  Neipperg  was  the 
counsellor,  the  confidant,  the  future  minister,  the 
future  morganatic  husband  of  the  former  Empress  of 
the  French.  She  was  going  to  be  —  admitting  that 
she  was  not  so  already  —  enthralled,  body  and  soul, 
by  this  man,  who,  everywhere  and  always,  from  Swe- 
den to  Naples,  had  figured  among  the  most  persever- 
ing and  most  relentless  of  Napoleon's  enemies. 

However,  Napoleon  did  not  yet  despair  of  recall- 
ing his  wife  to  better  sentiments.  A  few  days  after 
General  Neipperg's  departure,  a  mysterious  envoy 
from  Paris  arrived  at  Vienna  to  make  a  supreme 
effort.  One  of  the  chief  familiars  of  Prince  Talley- 
rand had  been  a  M.  de  Montrond,  a  man  of  the 
world,  subtle,  charming  rather  than  serious,  and  more 
accustomed  to  the  society  of  drawing-rooms  than  to 
politics.  As  he  was  both  shrewd  and  witty,  his  oppo- 
sition and  bis  sarcasms  incurred  the  Emperor's  anger, 
and  he  had  imprisoned  him  in  the  fortress  of  Ham. 
lie  made  his  escape,  however,  and  found  a,  refuge  in 
exile,  whence  lie  returned  to  France  at  the  same 
time  with  the  Bourbons.  After  the  return  from 
Elba  lu;  made  advances  to  Fouchd,  Napoleon's  Minis- 


MARIE  LOUISE  DURING  THE  II  UN  Lit  ED  DAYS.    121 


terof  Police,  who  resolved  to  employ  him  in  the  hope 
of  thus  continuing  relations  with  Prince  Talleyrand. 
Who  could  have  believed  that  M.  de  Montrond  was 
to  he  the  man  whom  the  Emperor  would  charge  with 
the  most  delicate  and  important  secret  mission.  But 
as  Napoleon  desired  at  any  price  to  see  once  more  his 
wife  and  son,  he  would  have  accepted  the  services  of 
any  one  whatever  who  seemed  likely  to  aid  him  in 
realizing  this  dearest  of  his  wishes. 

M.  de  Montrond  entered  Vienna  with  a  passport 
describing  him  as  an  Italian  abbe  ;  preserving  a  strict 
incognito,  he  had  secret  interviews  with  Talleyrand 
(whom  he  found  more  deeply  pledged  to  the  Bourbon 
cause  than  he  had  supposed),  and  afterwards  with  M. 
de  Mdneval.  To  the  latter  he  delivered  a  letter  for 
Marie  Louise  from  Napoleon,  and  others  written  by 
the  Duke  of  Yieenza  to  Madame  de  Montesquieu 
and  to  M.  de  Meneval  himself.  "  lie  told  me,  laugh- 
ing," says  Meneval,  "  that  he  was  authorized  to  ab- 
duct the  Empress,  disguising  her  in  men's  clothes  if 
necessary,  and  not  to  mind  her  roguish  ways.  lie 
made  several  other  remarks  in  the  same  vein  of  witty 
raillery  which  is  characteristic  of  him,  and  which 
proved  to  me  what  I  was  quite  disposed  to  believe, 
that  this  abduction  scheme  was  a  jesting  notion  of  his 
own  rather  than  the  object  of  his  mission.  He  was 
surprised  at  the  unexpected  confidence  placed  in  him 
at  Paris,  whence  he  had  been  hunted  and  exiled.  I 
was  surprised  myself,  for  it  seemed  to  me  much  more 
likely  that  he  came  to  work  for  M.  de    Talleyrand 


122  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

than  for  the  Emperor ;  as  a  matter  of  fact  he  had  a 
secret  mission  from  the  Duke  of  Otranto  for  that 
minister.  He  stayed  at  the  palace  of  the  French 
Embassy." 

To  this  strange  envoy  M.  de  Meneval  gave  several 
meetings,  sometimes  at  Vienna,  sometimes  at  Schoen- 
brunn.  There  Fouche's  agent,  strolling  through  gar- 
dens and  greenhouses,  passed  as  an  amateur  in  bot- 
any, in  order  to  put  off  their  guard  the  many  spies 
surrounding  the  residence  of  Marie  Louise. 

In  a  letter  addressed  to  Louis  XVIIL,  on  April  13, 
1815,  Talleyrand  thus  expressed  himself  concerning 
M.  de  Montrond's  secret  mission  :  — 

"  All  that  reaches  me  from  France  proves  that  Bo- 
naparte is  greatly  embarrassed  there.  I  am  still  more 
convinced  of  it  by  the  emissaries  whom  he  sends 
here.  One  of  these,  M.  de  Montrond,  has  reached 
Vienna  through  the  intervention  of  the  Abbe"  Altien, 
an  attache  of  the  Austrian  legation  at  Paris.  He  has 
neither  a  despatch  nor  any  ostensible  mission,  and 
possibly  was  sent  by  those  who  serve  Bonaparte  rather 
than  by  Bonaparte  himself.  This  is  what  I  incline 
to  believe.  He  brought  verbal  messages  to  M.  de 
Metternich,  M.  de  Nesselrode,  and  me.  I  lis  business 
was  to  ascertain  whether  the  foreign  Powers  were' 
seriously  determined  not  to  recognize  Bonaparte  and 
meant  to  make  war  against  him.  He  had  also  a 
letter  for  Prince  Eugene.  What  lie  was  told  to  ask 
me  was,  whether  I  eould  really  intend  to  excite  war 
against    France.     Read  the  declaration   by  which   I 


MARIE  LOUISE  DURING  THE  HUNDRED  DAYS.    123 

answered  him.  It  does  not  contain  a  word  contrary 
to  my  opinion.  Moreover,  it  is  not  a  war  against 
France  which  is  in  question,  but  simply  one  against 
the  man  of  the  Island  of  Elba.  Of  M.  de  Metternich 
he  inquired  whether  the  Austrian  government  had 
totally  lost  sight  of  the  ideas  it  held  in  March,  1814. 
'  The  regency  ?  We  don't  want  that,'  answered  M. 
de  Metternich.  Finally  he  endeavored  to  find  out 
the  intentions  of  the  Emperor  Alexander  through  M. 
de  Xesselrocle.  '  Bonaparte's  destruction  and  that  of 
his  family,'  said  the  latter.  And  there  things  rest. 
M.  de  Montrond  has  been  made  acquainted  with  the 
condition  of  the  forces  to  be  immediately  employed, 
and  also  with  the  treaty  of  the  25th  of  March  last. 
He  has  gone  back  to  Paris  with  this  information  and 
these  responses,  which  ought  to  give  those  who  are 
at  present  attached  to  Bonaparte's  fortunes  a  good 
deal  to  think  about.'' 

M.  de  Montrond  took  back  to  Paris  a  letter  to  the 
Duke  of  Vicenza  from  M.  de  Meneval,  dated  April 
7,  1815.  Among  other  items  of  news,  M.  de  Mene- 
val gave  Napoleon's  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  some 
painful  and  singular  details  concerning  the  senti- 
ments of  Marie  Louise  :  "  I  do  not  know  when  the 
Fmpress  will  go  to  France,"  said  the  faithful  servi- 
tor. "At  present  the  Cabinet  is  far  from  being 
inclined  to  permit  it.  The  mind  of  the  Empress  is 
so  disturbed  that  the  prospect  of  returning  thither 
tills  her  with  terror ;  for  six  months  every  possible 
means  has  been  employed    to  detach    her   from   the 


124  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

Emperor.  .  .  .  When  by  accident  I  have  been  able 
to  get  a  word  with  her,  I  have  implored  her  to  re- 
main neutral  and  to  sign  nothing.  But  she  has  been 
induced  to  take  several  occasions  to  declare  her  igno- 
rance of  the  Emperor's  plans  and  her  wish  to  place 
herself  under  the  protection  of  her  father  and  his 
allies." 

In  the  same  letter  M.  de  Meneval  gives  an  account 
of  a  conversation  he  has  just  had  with  the  forgetful 
Princess  :  "  Last  Sunday,  dining  alone  with  the  Em- 
press, Her  Majesty  said  to  me,  after  dinner,  that  the 
Congress  had  just  signed  an  act  assuring-  the  Duchy 
of  Parma  to  her,  but  leaving  for  the  present  the  ad- 
ministration of  it  to  Austria  which  should  make  it 
pay  her  one  hundred  thousand  francs  a  month.  She 
said  she  had  not  been  able  to  obtain  the  inheritance 
of  the  duchy  for  her  son  ;  her  heir  must  be  the  sou 
of  the  Queen  of  Etruria  ;  but  that  she  will  obtain 
the  Bohemian  fiefs  of  the  Archduke  Ferdinand, 
which  yield  a  revenue  of  about  six  hundred  thousand 
francs  ;  also,  that  she  had  taken  an  irrevocable  de- 
termination never  to  be  reunited  to  the  Emperor. 
Pressed  concerning  tin;  motive  of  this  singular  reso- 
lution, alter  several  reasons  which  1  undertook  to 
set  aside,  she  avowed  that  as  she  had  not  shared  his 
disgrace,  siie  could  not  share  a  prosperity  she  had 
done  nothing  to  bring  about.  .  .  .  While  waiting 
for  this  tangle  to  get  smoothed  out,  I  went  on  talk- 
ing to  her  about  the  happiness  which  had  been  caused 
in    France   by   the    Emperor's  return,  the   impatience 


MARIE  LOUISE  DURING  THE  HUNDRED  DAYS.   125 

with  which  she  is  expected  there,  and  the  desire  the 
Emperor  has  to  see  her  ;  but  I  spoke  soberly,  for  the 
subject  annoys  her.  All  must  be  left  to  time  and  the 
Emperor's  moderation.  No  matter  how  prudently  I 
act,  I  am  subjected  to  the  basest  espionage.  A  swarm 
of  ignoble  spies  prowl  about  me  and  comment  on  every 
gesture,  movement,  and  expression  of  countenance. 
I  fear  I  shall  not  be  retained  here  much  longer: 
I  need  to  breathe  a  different  air  and  to  see  you 
all ;  my  health  is  impaired.  No  one  but  the  Empress 
and  her  son  enjoy  brilliant  health.  The  Empress 
lias  grown  much  stouter;  the  Prince  Imperial  is  an 
angel  of  beauty,  strength,  and  sweetness.  Madame 
de  Montcsquiou  sheds  tears  about  him  every  day." 

In  a  postscript  dated  April  8,  M.  de  Meneval  added: 
'w  I  have  written  you  hastily  and  without  order.  I 
have;  a  thousand  other  things  to  tell  you  which  it 
would  take  too  long  to  write.  What  I  presume  to 
recommend  you  to  be  most  circumspect  about  is  that 
which  relates  to  the  person  of  the  Empress.  This 
Princess  is  really  good-hearted,  but  at  present  she  is 
dominated  by  foreign  influences." 

Napoleon  insisted  on  seeing  the  original  of  this 
letter.  It  is  easy  to  understand  how  f;  -eatly  it  must 
have  pained  him. 

Marie  Louise  was  all  the  more  culpable  because, 
bad  she  acted  in  conformity  with  her  duties  as  wife 
and  mother,  as  Frenchwoman  and  Empress,  she 
might  have  secured,  if  not  the  reconciliation  of  her 
husband  with  the  Powers,  at  least  the  accession  of 


126  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

her  son.  Even  the  bitterest  enemies  of  her  husband, 
as,  for  example,  Benjamin  Constant,  had  rallied  to 
him.  Many  people  considered  the  cause  of  the  Bour- 
bons as  forever  lost.  At  Ghent,  French  emigration 
was  frequently  discouraged.  On  March  27,  M.  de 
Jaucourt  wrote  to  Talleyrand :  "  I  am  no  longer  good 
for  anything ;  do  not  give  me  any  mission ;  I  want 
none.  A  little  intrigue  is  all  anybody  is  going  to 
have  to  do  outside  the  Congress,  if  that  continues, 
and  we  are  already  assuming  an  appearance  of  emi- 
gration which  I  find  odious."  And  again  on  April 
11 :  "  Nothing  is  so  easy  as  to  ruin  and  devastate 
France  and  bring  about  a  revolution  in  its  govern- 
ment ;  nothing  is  so  difficult  as  to  save  it,  to  put  it 
back  where  it  was  on  the  morrow  of  the  royal  meet- 
ing. Great  God !  what  a  road  we  have  passed  since 
that  time." 

Hostilities  had  not  yet  begun.  Notwithstanding 
the  declaration  of  March  18,  the  violence  of  which 
was  already  regretted,  Europe  felt  a  certain  hesitation 
to  reopen  strife.  Tn  England  a  strong  opposition  had 
declared  itself  against  the  warlike  attitude  of  the 
Ministry  toward  France,  and  the  Cabinet  was  obliged 
to  conceal  from  Parliament,  the  treaty  of  March  25, 
by  which  the  Powers  had  renewed  their  treaty  of 
Chanmont.  In  spite  of  what  Talleyrand  had  written 
to  Louis  NYIII.,  neither  Austria  nor  even  Russia 
would  have  absolutely  repelled  the  idea  of  a  regency 
under  Marie  Louise.  If  this  Princess  had  cordially 
pleaded  the  cause  of  her  husband  and  her  son,  if  she 


MARIE  LOUISE  DURING  THE  HUNDRED  DAYS.    127 

had  made  an  ardent  appeal  to  the  chivalrous  senti- 
ments of  the  Czar,  the  Bourbons  would  probably 
never  have  remounted  the  throne. 

Alexander  had  been  very  indignant  when  he 
learned  that  a  secret  treaty  against  him  had  been 
signed  during  the  Congress  by  England,  Austria,  and 
France.  He  considered  it  an  act  of  monstrous  ingrat- 
itude on  the  part  of  Louis  XVIII.,  for  it  was  he  who 
had  given  him  the  crown  of  France  some  months 
before;  there  would  have  been  needed  but  a  word  to 
make  him  proclaim  Napoleon  II.,  under  the  regency 
of  Marie  Louise.  It  was  Madame  de  Krudener,  in 
her  rage  at  having  been  disdained  by  Napoleon  not 
long  before,  who  decided  the  Emperor  Alexander, 
the  white  angel,  as  she  styled  him,  to  declare  against 
the  man  whom  she  called  the  Hack  angel.  Jacob,  the 
bibliophile,  in  his  curious  book  on  the  Czar's  Egeria, 
says  :  "  It  cannot  be  denied  that  Madame  de  Krudener 
had  a  most  fatal  influence  upon  the  destiny  of  the  Em- 
peror Napoleon.  It  was  she  who  first  proclaimed  the 
decadence  of  Buonaparte,  as  she  affected  to  name 
him  :  it  was  she  who,  as  if  speaking  in  the  name  of 
God,  boldly  declared  that  Napoleon  had  ceased  to 
reign  ami  was  about  to  be  placed  under  the  ban  of 
the  nations:  it  was  she,  in  tine.  who.  bringing  all  her 
influence  to  bear  on  the  hesitating  Alexander,  caused 
the  negotiations  of  Fontainebleau  to  be  broken  off 
and  decided  the  re-establishment  of  the  Bourbons. 
Sin.'  publicly  announced,  in  her  Biblical  phraseologv, 
that   men   would  presently  see   the'    Revolution,  war, 


128  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

and  every  woe,  proceeding  from  the  Island  of  Elba 
with  the  black  angel,  who  would  unloose  all  these 
scourges  upon  Europe." 

Nevertheless,  the  Emperor  Alexander,  opposed  by 
France  and  Austria  in  his  designs  on  Poland,  and 
not  less  irritated  against  Talleyrand  than  against 
Metternich,  may  have  more  than  once  regretted 
having  followed  the  advice  of  Madame  de  Krudener. 
When  proclaimed  by  an  unfrocked  bishop,  who  had 
been  a  minister  both  of  the  Directory  and  the  French 
Empire,  the  dogma  of  legitimacy  produced  no  effect 
on  the  mind  of  Alexander.  The  Czar  made  no  secret 
of  his  opinion  that  the  suppression  of  the  tricolored 
flag  was  a  mistake.  He  approved  the  principles  of 
the  Parisian  liberals.  He  accepted  the  idea  of  a 
monarchy  under  the  Duke  of  Orleans  almost  as  if  he 
foresaw  the  Revolution  of  1830,  to  which  his  succes- 
sor, the  Emperor  Nicholas,  was,  nevertheless,  to  be  so 
hostile :  Guinguende  wrote  to  him,  apropos  of  the 
return  from  Elba:  "The  execution  of  the  plan  has 
been  marvellous.  It  was  accomplished  as  much  by  the 
absence  of , resistance  as  by  the  calm  yet  swift  audacity 
of  the  attack.  Oppressed,  humiliated,  dishonored  by 
the  Bourbons,  France  has  received  Napoleon  as  a 
liberator.  He  alone  can  rescue  it  from  the  abyss. 
What  other  name  is  there  to  take  the  place  of  his? 
Let  those  of  the  Allies  who  are  most  capable  of  reflec- 
tion, reflect  on  this,  and  try  in  good  faith  to  answer 
the  question." 

The  Czar  experienced  a  secret  antipathy  towards 


MARIE  LOUISE  DURING  THE  HUNDRED  DAYS.   129 

the  Bourbons  of  the  elder  branch.  We  desire  no 
better  proof  of  this  than  a  curious  letter  from  Talley- 
rand to  Louis  XVIII.,  which  bears  date  April  28, 
1815,  and  may  be  found  in  the  interesting  collection 
published  by  M.  Pallain.  In  it  Talleyrand  thus 
enumerates  the  Czar's  grievances  against  the  King: 
"  For  some  time  past  I  have  had  occasion  to  remark 
that  if  the  Emperor  of  Russia  often  opposes  what 
Your  Majesty  wishes,  it  is  not  always  solely  in  view 
of  some  end  which  he  is  aiming  at  himself ;  but  still 
more,  in  certain  circumstances,  because  he  feels 
wounded:  First,  because  Your  Majesty  did  not  offer 
him  the  blue  ribbon,  as  well  as  the  Prince  Regent; 
second,  on  account  of  the  futility  of  his  intercession 
for  the  Duke  of  Vicenza,  in  whom  he  was  warmly 
interested,  and  who  was  excluded  from  the  Chamber 
of  Peers ;  third,  on  account  of  the  firmness  with 
which  Your  Majesty,  on  the  question  of  marriage, 
refused  to  yield  to  his  wishes  on  the  religious  point; 
fourth,  because  the  constitutional  charter  differs  on 
many  points  from  the  views  he  expressed  in  Paris  on 
the  subject,  and  which  his  attachment  to  liberal  ideas 
made  him  consider  very  useful  and  very  important." 
In  the  same  letter  Talleyrand  reports  a  conversa- 
tion which  had  just  taken  place  between  the  Emperor 
Alexander  and  Lord  Clancarty:  "Our  first  duties," 
said  the  Czar,  "are  towards  Europe  and  ourselves. 
Even  were  the  re-establishment  of  the  King's  govern- 
ment easy,  yet,  so  long  as  there  can  be  no  certainty  of 
its  future  stability,  what  should  we  do  in  re-establish- 


130  ELBA,    AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

ing  it  except  to  prepare  new  afflictions  for  France 
and  Europe  ?  If  what  has  happened  once  should 
happen  again,  should  we  be  as  united  as  we  are 
to-day?  Should  we  have  nearly  a  million  of  men 
under  arms?  Should  we  be  ready  at  the  moment 
when  danger  impended?  And  what  probability  is 
there,  the  elements  of  disorder  remaining  the  same, 
that  the  government  of  the  King'  would  be  more 
stable  than  it  has  been  ?  In  a  word,  whatever  opin- 
ion one  may  have  about  it,  since  the  re-establish- 
ment of  the  King,  which  we  all  desire,  and  which 
I  desire  particularly,  may  meet  with  insurmountable 
obstacles,  therefore,  this  case  being  possible,  it  is  good 
to  look  ahead  and  agree  beforehand  what  should  then 
be  done." 

The  Emperor  of  Russia  added,  when  speaking  of 
a  possible  imperial  regency,  this  significant  remark, 
which  greatly  increases  the  responsibility  of  Marie 
Louise  for  the  fall  of  the  Napoleonic  dynasty :  "  Last 
year  the  regency  might  have  been  established;  but 
the  Archduchess  Marie  Louise,  to  whom  I  spoke  about 
it,  will  not  at  any  price  whatever  return  to  France. 
Her  son  is  to  have  an  establishment  in  Austria,  and 
she  desires  nothing  further  for  him.  I  am  certain, 
moreover,  that  Austria,  on  its  part,  no  longer  dreams 
of  a  regency  or  wishes  for  it.  Last  year  it  seemed  to 
me  as  if  that  might  have  conciliated  the  different 
interests,  hut  the  situation  is  no  longer  the  same.  So 
that  is  a  thing  which  need  not  be  considered.  I  see 
nobody   more  likely  to  conciliate  all   than  the  Duke 


MARIE  LOUISE  DURING  THE  HUNDRED  DAYS,    lol 

of  Orleans.  He  is  a  Frenchman,  he  is  a  Bourbon, 
and  the  husband  of  a  Bourbon;  he  has  sons;  when 
he  was  young"  he  served  the  Constitutional  Cause; 
he  has  worn  the  tricolored  cockade  which,  as  I  often 
said  at  Paris,  ought  never  to  have  been  given  up." 

In  the  same  letter  Talleyrand  was  not  afraid  to 
write  to  Louis  XVI J L:  "The  Emperor  Alexander 
said  in  ordinary  conversation,  that  he  could  readily 
believe  that  Your  Majesty,  if  you  were  alone,  might 
suit  France  and  be  loved  and  respected  there  ;  but, 
as  you  cannot  lie  separated  from  those  surrounding 
you,  he  fears  that  you  will  never  be  able  to  consoli- 
date your  throne." 

From  this  letter  it  clearly  appears  that  the  Em- 
peror Alexander  declined  to  be  the  defender  of  Marie 
Louise  against  her  own  wishes,  and  returned  reluc- 
tantly to  the  elder  branch  of  the  Bourbons.  They 
had  shown  him  little  gratitude,  and  yet,  as  is  ineon- 
testably  known,  they  could  never  have  reaseended 
the  throne  if  it  had  pleased  him  to  oppose  his  veto 
to  their  restoration.  But  Fatality  weighed  thence- 
forward on  the  man  whom  Fortune  had  once  covered 
with  her  favors.  His  wife,  instead  of  serving  him, 
was  prejudicial  to  him.  The  former  Empress,  the 
former  Regent,  had  disappeared  to  give  place  to  the 
Duchess  of  Parma.  The  marvellous  return  from 
Elba  had  left  her  indifferent,  and  even  hostile.  One 
would  have  said  she  was  ashamed  to  appear  again  in 
the  great  drama  wherein  she  had  played  a  leading 
part. 


132  ELBA,   AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

The  last  ties,  so  feeble  in  any  case,  which  might 
still  have  attached  Marie  Louise  to  France,  were 
weakening  every  day.  Her  little  French  court  was 
almost  dispersed.  Her  lady  of  honor,  Madame  de 
Brignole,  who  had  been  so  devoted  to  Napoleon,  died 
on  April  2.  When  the  Emperor  formed  the  house- 
hold of  Marie  Louise,  in  1810,  lie  appointed  as  one 
of  the  ladies  of  the  palace  the  Marquise  of  Brignole- 
Sale,  then  called  the  Countess  of  Brignole,  as  the 
title  of  Marquis  had  been  abolished  by  the  Emperor. 
A  member  of  one  of  the  most  illustrious  Genoese 
families,  the  nobility  of  her  character,  and  her  up- 
right and  distinguished  mind  placed  her  among  the 
very  small  number  of  women  with  whom  the  Em- 
peror willingly  conversed  on  serious  matters,  and 
even  on  questions  of  policy.  When  the  allied  troops 
entered  Paris,  she  used  every  effort  to  induce  the 
liegent  not  to  leave  the  capital ;  and,  despite  her 
chagrin  at  seeing  her  advice  rejected,  she  followed 
Marie  Louise  to  Vienna.  When  she  fell  ill  there, 
the  Empress  gave  her  the  most  assiduous  care,  and 
wept  for  her  as  if  she  had  been  her  mother.  On  her 
death-bed  Madame  de  Brignole  once  more  implored 
Marie  Louise  to  rejoin  Napoleon. 

The  Countess  of  Montesquiou,  after  having  been 
violently  separated  from  her  pupil,  was  confined  in  a 
small  apartment  of  two  rooms  at  Vienna,  and  neither 
she  nor  her  son,  Colonel  Anatole  de  Montesquiou, 
were  permitted  to  return  to  Paris.  On  the  other 
hand,  M.  Balkouhey,  the  intendant  of  the  household, 


MARIE  LOUISE  DURING  THE  HUNDRED  DAYS.    133 

was  authorized  to  do  so.  Baron  de  Bausset  was  con- 
fined to  his  bed  with  gout.  Baron  de  Meneval  alone 
remained  near  Marie  Louise,  and  he  for  a  short  time 
only,  and  against  his  inclination.  lie  longed  to  ter- 
minate his  stay  at  Schoenbrunn,  where  all  his  efforts 
in  behalf  of  a  husband  and  father  had  been  so  fruit- 
less. The  type  of  honor  and  iidelity,  this  loyal  ad- 
herent had  neglected  no  means  to  recall  Marie  Louise 
to  sentiments  of  duty.  The  journal  which  he  kept  at 
Schoenbrunn  in  1814  and  1815  has  been  shown  to  me 
by  his  son.  It  is  a  very  curious  document.  It  con- 
tains nothing  but  facts  without  reflections,  like  the 
journal  of  Dangeau ;  but  if  it  is  read  with  attention, 
it  gives  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  attitude  of 
Marie  Louise  and  her  mode  of  life.  The  name  of 
General  Neipperg  recurs  constantly  in  this  journal. 
Every  day  the  same  tilings  are  recorded  of  the  Em- 
press: she  rides  with  the  General ;  she  dines  with  the 
General :  she  plays  or  sings  with  the  General.  The 
word  factotum  comes  in  like  a  refrain.  The  seducer 
is  perhaps  still  more  influential  when  absent  than 
when  present.  On  April  1,  1815,  occurs  this  entry  : 
"General  Neipperg  left  this  morning  at  six.  The 
Empress,  who  rose  and  dressed  very  early  learned 
his  departure  from  a  long  letter  which  he  left  for 
lier.*"  On  April  '21:  "The  Empress  received  a  letter 
from  General  Neipperg,  dated  at  Modena,  on  the 
14th.  The  Parmesan  body-guards,  having  been  un- 
willing to  march  against  the  Neapolitans,  and  several 
of  them  having  cried  '  Long  live  the  Emperor  ! '  this 


134  ELBA,    AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 


company  was  disbanded.  At  Parma  the  Empress 
herself  will  reward  those  who  remained  faithful."  So 
what  Marie  Louise  most  desired  was  that  the  soldiers 
of  her  duchy  should  oppose  her  husband.  And  when, 
on  May  2,  the  unfortunate  Murat,  who,  as  Napoleon 
remarked,  twice  ruined  France  —  once  by  abandoning 
her,  and  again  by  returning  to  her  too  soon  —  was 
completely  beaten  by  the  Austrians  at  the  battle  of 
Tolentino,  the  Empress  Marie  Louise  was  the  person 
who  rejoiced  most  over  General  Neipperg's  success. 
During  his  absence  she  had  heard  a  piece  of  news 
which  apparently  did  not  afflict  her :  it  announced 
the  death  of  the  General's  wife.  On  this  subject  M. 
de  Mdneval  says :  "  The  death  of  the  Countess  Neip- 
perg  passed  unnoticed  except  at  Schoenbrunn,  where 
it  excited  keen  interest.  This  lady  had  remained 
at  Wiirtemberg,  where  General  Neipperg  originated 
when  he  came  to  Vienna  to  seek  employment  for  his 
talents.  She  died  in  April,  after  two  days'  illness, 
leaving  four  boys.  They  say  she  was  very  pretty, 
but  not  very  intelligent.  Count  Neipperg  had  ab- 
ducted her  from  her  husband,  who  was  still  living-  a 
few  months  before  his  wife's  death.  The  manner  in 
which  the  Empress  Marie  Louise  announced  this 
death  one  morning  at  table  was  not  indicative  of 
much  regret." 

The  strange  affection  felt  by  Napoleon's  wife  for 
General  Neipperg  overpowered  every  other  senti- 
ment. She  had  so  absolutely  disowned  France  and 
her  husband,  that  when  the  processions  for  the  sue- 


MARIE  LOUISE  DURING  THE  II UNBRED  DA  YS.    135 

cess  of  the  war  began  in  Vienna  on  April  16,  her 
step-mother,  the  Austrian  Empress,  had  no  scruples 
about  asking  her  to  take  part  in  them.  It  is  true 
that  she  refused  compliance  with  an  invitation  so 
humiliating  that  even  her  father  and  her  uncles  saw 
the  impropriety  of  it.  In  mentioning  the  fact,  M.  de 
Meneval  adds  this  sorrowful  reflection:  u  The  Em- 
press Marie  Louise  manifested  sentiments  appropriate 
to  her  position ;  but  it  costs  me  much  to  admit  that 
she  seemed  to  act  in  this  way  chiefly  to  preserve  her 
right  to  persevere  in  her  refusal  to  go  back  to  France." 
rI  ne  faithful  and  loyal  Meneval  had  lost  all  hope 
of  winning  back  Marie  Louise  to  better  sentiments. 
The  last  interview  he  had  with  her  on  this  painful 
subject  robbed  him  of  all  illusions.  She  would  not 
return  to  France  for  any  consideration  whatever, 
even  if  the  Allies  and  her  father  should  grant  her 
their  permission.  u  Some  words,"  he  says,  "were 
exchanged  between  us  on  the  painful  subject  of  her 
refusal  to  rejoin  the  Emperor.  She  replied  with 
some  vivacity,  but  yet  with  her  usual  sweetness, 
that  her  resolution  was  irrevocable.  When  I  objected 
that  there  was  no  such  thing  as  an  irrevocable  resolu- 
tion, and  that  some  circumstance  might  occur  which 
would  render  her  return  to  France  obligatory,  she  was 
in  haste  to  reply  that  her  father  himself  would  have 
no  right  to  force  her.  The  remark  escaped  me  that 
the  sentiments  that  she  was  expressing  were  unjust 
and  out  of  keeping  with  her  character;  that  if  the 
French  nation  were  made  aware  of  this  repugnance, 


130  ELBA,    AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 


they  would  be  wounded  by  it,  as  they  were  ex- 
tremely sensitive  when  their  attachment  was  dis- 
dained, and  would  then  reject  her,  although  they  had 
desired  her  presence  as  a  pledge  of  peace.  This  con- 
versation was  the  last  I  had  with  her  on  this  matter." 

Even  to  have  abandoned  her  husband  was  not 
enough  for  Marie  Louise.  She  allowed  her  son  to 
be  taken  from  her.  She  and  the  little  Prince  no 
longer  lived  under  the  same  roof.  She  remained 
at  Schoenbrunn,  while  the  child  was  at  Vienna,  in 
his  grandfather's  palace.  She  knew  that  when  she 
should  go  to  reign  in  Parma,  that  duchy  which  was 
to  be  hers  for  life  only,  she  would  have  no  right  to 
take  the  little  Prince  there  with  her.  And  yet  the 
Duchy  of  Parma  was  like  the  Promised  Land  to  her, 
because  she  was  certain  that  her  favorite  would  be  at 
her  side.    This  man's  love  outweighed  all  things  else. 

3VI.  do  Mdneval  comprehended  that  his  presence  at 
Schoenbrunn  had  become  worse  than  useless.  He 
requested  his  passports  for  France  on  April  9,  and 
had  been  waiting  for  them  nearly  a  month.  Before 
taking  his  departure  he  went  to  the  imperial  palace 
at  Vienna  to  bid  adieu  to  the  Prince,  and  was  struck 
by  the  child's  serious  and  melancholy  air.  His 
charming  gaiety  and  graceful  loquacity  had  given 
place  to  constraint,  embarrassment,  and  timidity.  He 
cast  uneasy  glances  about  him.  His  precocious  sad- 
ness—  lie  was  a  little  more  than  four  years  old  — 
almost  persuaded  one  that  he  had  already  a  presenti- 
ment  of  bis  sorrowful  destiny.     "  Monseigneur,"  M. 


MARIE  LOUISE  DURING  THE  HUNDRED  DAYS.    137 


tic  Meneval  said  to  him,  "  1  am  going  to  see  your 
father  again.  Have  you  any  messages  for  him?'' 
The  child,  as  if  lie  felt  himself  surrounded  by  evil- 
disposed  persons,  remained  silent ;  withdrawing  his 
hand  from  that  of  his  father's  faithful  servant,  he 
went  without  speaking  to  the  embrasure  of  the  far- 
thest window.  Then  he  beckoned  Meneval  to  ap- 
proach, and  said  in  a  whisper,  "  Monsieur  Mev<i,  tell 
him  that  I  always  love  him  well."' 

On  May  0,  at  ten  in  the  evening,  M.  de  Mene- 
val took  leave  of  the  Empress  Marie  Louise.  This 
woman,  ordinarily  so  unmoved,  could  not  avoid 
yielding  to  a  brief  emotion.  Possibly  a_  secret  re- 
morse agitated  the  depths  of  her  soul.  After  saying 
a  few  courteous  words  to  this  high-principled  man, 
whose  noble  counsels  had  been,  alas !  of  so  little 
avail,  she  expressed  herself  nearly  in  these  words: 
"  I  feel  that  all  relations  between  me  and  France  are 
about  to  cease,  lint  I  shall  always  preserve  the 
memory  of  that  adopted  land.  Assure  the  Emperor 
of  my  good  wishes.  I  hope  that  he  will  comprehend 
mv  unhappy  position.  I  will  never  consent  to  a 
divorce:  but  I  flatter  myself  that  he  will  agree  to 
a  friendly  separation  and  will  not  conceive  any  re- 
sentment on  that  account.  Such  a  separation  ha; 
become  indispensable.  It  will  not  alter  the  senti- 
ments of  esteem  and  gratitude  which  I  preserve." 
Then  she  gave  M.  de  Meneval  a  snuff-box,  orna- 
mented with  her  monogram  in  diamonds,  and  retired 
to  conceal  her  emotion,  which  was  beginning  to 
overcome  her  self-control. 


IX. 


THE    FIELD    OF    MAY. 


ON  arriving  at  Paris,  M.  de  Meneval  waited  at 
once  on  Napoleon  to  give  him  the  news  so  long 
expected  with  impatience.  The  Emperor  was  over- 
whelmed with  sadness.  On  April  17,  he  had  left  the 
Tuileries,  a  dismal  abode,  full  of  gloomy  souvenirs, 
and  installed  himself  at  the  Elyse'e.  There  he  could 
sometimes  interrupt  his  immense  labors  by  walks 
under  beautiful  trees,  whose  shadows  cooled  his 
fevered  temples.  He  felt  that,  in  spite  of  all  his 
genius,  the  earth  was  failing  beneath  his  feet.  From 
afar  he  heard  the  tramp  of  innumerable  battalions 
advancing  upon  France,  and  understood  that,  sooner 
or  later,  heroism  must  succumb  to  numbers.  A  pro- 
found melancholy  took  possession  of  his  soul.  He 
cast  on  men  and  tilings  a  glance  that  was  discerning 
but  discouraged.  If  his  son  had  been  there,  if  he 
could  have  rested  his  eyes  upon  the  blond  head  of  his 
sweet  and  amiable  child,  he  might  have  had  some 
moments  of  repose.  But  the  King  of  Rome  was  far 
away.  The  prisoner  of  the  Coalition,  he  had  the 
destiny  of  Astyanax,  —  that  fatal  destiny  which  bis 
father  had  foreboded. 
188 


THE  FIELD   OF  MAY.  139 

M.  de  Meneval  found  the  Emperor  sitting  on  a 
tete-a-tete,  his  head  resting  on  his  hand,  plunged 
apparently  in  a  sombre  reverie.  Having  received 
his  faithful  servant  with  great  cordiality,  Napoleon 
took  him  into  the  garden,  where  he  plied  him  with 
questions.  The  least  details  about  his  son  were  in  the 
highest  degree  interesting  to  his  paternal  heart.  All 
that  he  said  of  the  Empress  was  full  of  deference  and 
consideration.  He  deplored  the  trials  to  which  she 
had  been  exposed,  and  while  recognizing  that  her 
sentiments  toward  France  and  himself  had  been  vio- 
lated, he  was  ready  to  go  even  further  than  M.  de 
Meneval  to  find  excuses  for  her. 

When  they  came  to  political  topics,  the  Emperor 
said  that  it  was  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  and  not  Louis 
XVIII.,  whom  he  had  dethroned  by  returning  from 
Elba,  for  the  latter  would  not  have  been  able  to  reign 
in  France  six  months  longer.  He  regretted  it,  be- 
cause  the  Duke  was  the  only  Frenchman  of  his  family. 
••  Napoleon  was  touched  by  the  patriotic  sentiments 
displayed  by  the  Duke  of  Orleans  two  months  before, 
in  going  to  assume  command  of  the  Army  of  the 
North,  placed  under  the  orders  of  Marshal  Mortier; 
also  with  the  letter  he  had  written  to  this  Marshal  on 
returning  in  the  retreat;  and,  above  all.  by  the  words 
reported  by  Captain  Athelin,  one  of  his  aides-de- 
camp, whom  the  Duke  of  Orleans  had  authorized  to 
resume  his  post  as  an  orderly  officer  of  the  Emperor. 
The  Prince  said  to  him  that  the  first  thing  necessary 
was   to  prevent   another   foreign  invasion  of  France, 


140  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

and  that  he  esteemed  him  fortunate  in  being  able  to 
resume  colors  which  he  had  himself  abandoned  with 
regret." 

Afterwards  Napoleon  spoke  with  tranquillity  con- 
cerning the  sovereigns,  his  pitiless  enemies.  What 
had  occurred  did  not  surprise  him.  He  had  compre- 
hended, when  attempting  his  enterprise,  that  he  could 
count  on  nothing  but  the  courage  of  the  nation  and 
his  own  sword.  "  For  the  rest,"  he  said  with  a  melan- 
choly smile,  "  God  is  great  and  merciful." 

After  relating  this  conversation,  pathetic  in  its 
simplicity,  M.  de  Meneval  adds:  "All  his  language 
was  marked  by  a  calm  sadness  and  resignation  which 
made  a  vivid  impression  on  me.  I  no  longer  found 
him  animated  by  that  certainty  of  success  which  had 
formerly  rendered  him  so  confident ;  it  seemed  as  if 
that  faith  in  Fortune  which  had  emboldened  him  to 
form  the  hardy  enterprise  of  coming  back  from  Elba, 
and  sustained  in  his  march  through  France,  had 
abandoned  him  at  his  entry  into  Paris.  He  felt  that 
he  was  not  seconded  with  the  ardent  and  devoted 
zeal  to  which  he  had  been  accustomed,  and  that  his 
movements,  hampered  by  the  trammels  he  had  sub- 
mitted to,  had  no  longer  the  same  freedom."' 

The  unhappy  Emperor  could  no  longer  entertain 
any  illusions,  either  concerning  the  ingratitude  of  his 
wife,  the  hostility  of  his  father-in-law,  or  the  hatred 
of  the  kings  who  were  once  his  vassals.  Treated  like 
a  pariali  by  his  enemies,  he  was  put  under  the  ban  of 
Europe, and  held  up  to  public  vengeance  as  the  vilest 


THE  FIELD   OF  MAY.  141 

of  criminals.  And  yet  he  did  not  complain.  His 
voice,  once  so  haughty  and  so  terrible,  softened 
almost  to  prayer.  He  desired  to  be  moderate,  just, 
pacific.  He  invoked  with  sincerity  those  great  moral 
laws  which  of  old  he  had  so  frequently  forgotten. 
Ah!  if  he  could  but  apply  his  powerful  intelligence 
to  works  of  civilization,  if  he  could  be  the  benefactor 
of  France  and  of  Europe,  if  he  could  at  last  appear 
in  the  character  of  a  gentle  and  beneficent  monarch, 
could  administer  justice  beneath  an  oak,  like  Saint 
Louis,  and  merit,  like  Louis  XII..  the  name  of  the 
father  of  the  people!  But  a  mysterious  voice  said  to 
him,  "It  is  too  late."  Warlike  in  his  own  despite, 
he  was  condemned  to  war  by  fatality  —  and  what  a 
war  !  In  meditating  on  the  final  struggle  in  which  he 
was  about  to  engage,  he  sometimes  said  that  perhaps, 
like  Louis  XIV..  he  should  gain  a  victory  of  Denain  ; 
for  the  next  battle,  the  decisive  battle,  he  would  give 
himself,  and,  as  a  general,  he  certainly  was  not  inferior 
to  Villars.  Alas  !  the  France  of  1815  did  not  resem- 
ble the  France  of  1712.  That  France  was  ruined, 
enfeebled,  harassed,  but  it  was  united,  and  even  the 
peasants  who  browsed  on  herbs  like  cattle,  still  cried, 
"  Long  live  the  King!"'  But  this  France,  though  less 
exhausted,  lacked  unity  and  concord.  In  Vendue 
there  had  been  a  rising  against  the  tricolored  Hag. 
In  every  department  of  the  Empire  the  Royalists  made 
no  secret  of  their  desire  for  the  foreigner's  success. 
The  saving  of  the  Gospel  was  about  to  be  realized. 
"Every   house   divided    against   itself    shall   perish." 


142  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

One  might  have  said  that  the  same  country  contained 
two  different  nations.  In  spite  of  the  absolute  cen- 
tralization which  the  Revolution  thought  it  had  estab- 
lished, there  was  no  unity  in  France,  and  the  two 
flags  symbolized  the  bitter  dissensions  which  divided 
its  citizens  from  one  another. 

It  was  in  vain  that  Napoleon  made  a  loyal  trial 
of  liberty.  Nobody  believed  in  the  sincerity  of  his 
intentions.  The  enemies  of  the  Empire  continued 
to  repeat  that  the  Additional  Act  was  only  a  decoy. 
The  journals  used  the  freedom  accorded  to  them 
merely  to  paralyze  the  national  defence  by  their  criti- 
cisms and  their  alarms.  Napoleon  recalled  his  brother 
Lucien,  whom  public  opinion  approved  for  having 
more  than  once  refused  a  crown.  The  time  was  long 
past  when  it  was  an  unpardonable  crime  for  a  brother 
of  the  new  Charlemagne  to  have  married  a  private 
person.  Napoleon  put  around  Lucien's  neck  the 
broad  ribbon  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  which  he  had 
worn  himself  when  coming  from  Elba  to  Paris.  "  It 
is  too  disgraceful  to  me  that  you  should  not  have  it," 
he  said  to  him. 

Lucien  installed  himself  in  the  Palais  Royal  and 
made  up  his  household.  He  retained  in  his  service 
all  the  domestics  of  the  Orleans  family  who  were 
willing  to  remain.  lie  found  Napoleon  sad  and 
weary.  "  He  has  a  great  propensity  to  sleep,"  said 
Lucien;  "it  is  an  effect  of  his  malady.  He  is  sur- 
prised himself  that,  with  this  habitual  drowsiness,  he 
should   have    had    the    energy  to  return  from  Elba. 


THE  FIELD   OF  MAY.  143 

He  is  projecting  a  Field  of  May,"  adds  Lucien, 
"  -where  I  proposed  to  him  to  abdicate.  It  seemed  to 
me  that  he  was  not  very  unwilling.  A  few  days 
later,  instead  of  the  abdication,  he  communicated  to 
me  his  Additional  Articles.  I  dared  to  contradict 
him.  '  A  million  of  souls  missing  at  the  least,' 
said  I  to  him.  He  treated  me  like  a  driveller.  He 
got  into  a  rage,  just  as  he  used  to.  I  bore  it  in 
silence ;  the  situation  is  so  different !  Inwardly  I 
said,  4  Alas !  he  is  unchanged.'  He  declared  that 
he  would  not  permit  me  to  have  a  seat  in  the  legisla- 
tive body.  He  suspects  me  of  a  secret  ambition  to 
be  elected  president  of  it,  with  the  idea  of  making  a 
new  18th  Brumaire  against  him.  I  was  angry  and 
went  away.  Joseph  reconciled  us.  The  costumes 
were  decided  on  for  the  ceremony  of  the  Field  of 
May-  I  said  I  would  not  wear  white,  but  simply  the 
uniform  of  the  National  Guard.  The  Emperor  said 
with  a  disagreeable  smile,  '  Yes ;  so  that  you  as  a 
National  Guard  may  produce  more  effect  than  I  as 
Emperor  —  is  that  it?  '     I  decided  to  wear  white." 

While  the  preparations  were  in  progress  for  the 
Field  of  May,  Napoleon  heard  something  winch 
afflicted  him  all  the  more  because  he  saw  in  it  a 
sinister  presage  for  himself.  In  vain  had  Murat,  his 
sole  ally,  essayed  to  rouse  Italy  against  Austria,  and 
dreamed  of  the  part  which  Victor  Emmanuel  played 
successfully  later  on.  At  Rimini,  on  March  31,  he 
had  issued  this  proclamation :  "  Italians,  you  were 
once  masters  of  the  world,  and   you  have  expiated 


144  ELBA,    AND    THE  HUNDRED  BAYS. 

your  glory  by  twenty  centuries  of  oppression.  Make 
it  to-day  your  ambition  to  have  no  more  masters. 
Seas  and  inaccessible  mountains,  these  are  your 
boundaries.  The  question  is  whether  Italy  shall  be 
free,  or  whether  you  will  submit  to  foreign  domina- 
tion. I  call  to  my  side  all  the  heroes  of  Italy."  This 
first  germ  of  Italian  unity  was  stifled.  The  cries  of 
"  Long  live  Joachim  the  Italian ! "  remained  almost 
unechoed.  The  daring  sovereign  was  completely 
beaten  at  Tolentino  by  two  Austrian  generals,  Bian- 
chi  and  Neipperg  —  Neipperg,  the  man  fatal  to  Napo- 
leon. On  May  19,  Murat,  a  fugitive  and  obliged  to 
hide  himself,  reached  Naples  in  the  night.  "  Ma- 
dame," he  said  to  his  wife,  when  talking  with  her 
for  the  last  time,  "  do  not  be  surprised  to  see  me 
living ;  I  have  done  all  that  I  could  to  die."  Then 
he  left  Naples  as  he  had  entered  it  and  took  refuge 
at  Ischia,  whence  a  merchant  vessel  brought  him  to 
Toulon.  A  few  hours  later  his  wife  negotiated  the 
surrender  of  Naples  with  the  English  and  the  Aus- 
trians,  and  embarked  for  Trieste.  On  May  20,  exactly 
two  months  to  a  day  after  the  tricolored  liag  had 
been  raised  upon  the  dome  of  the  Tuileries,  the 
Bourbon  standard  was  run  up  on  the  walls  of  the 
eapitol  of  the  Two  Sicilies.  Napoleon,  dreading  the 
contagion  of  misfortune,  would  not  permit  Murat 
to  come  to  Paris,  lie  exiled  him  to  Provence.  It 
seemed  to  him  that  his  own  fate  was  foreshadowed 
in  that  of  his  brother-in-law.  One  might  call  Tolen- 
tino the  prologue  of  Waterloo.    The  vanquished,  ill- 


THE  FIELD    OF  MAY.  145 

omened  man  was  not  to  appear  on  the  Field  of  May  — 
and  yet  he  would  be  so  useful  to  head  the  French  cav- 
alry at  the  time  of  the  final  struggle  in  which  the 
Emperor  is  preparing  to  engage  ! 

The  ceremony  of  the  Field  of  May  had  at  first 
been  intended  to  celebrate  the  inauguration  of  the 
liberal  Empire  and  the  coronation  of  Marie  Louise 
and  the  King  of  Rome.  But  this  second  part  of  the 
original  programme  had  to  be  abandoned,  since  the 
implacable  Coalition  had  deprived  Napoleon  forever 
of  his  wife  and  child.  A  proclamation  of  the  votes 
on  the  Additional  Act,  and  a  distribution  of  flags 
was  all  that  remained.  The  votes  were  as  follows : 
Affirmative,  1,300,000;  negative,  420G.  The  affirm- 
ative votes  for  the  Consulate  for  life  had  been 
3,577,-59,  and  for  the  institution  of  the  Empire, 
3,572,329.  This  diminution  shows  how  much  ground 
the  Empire  had  lost.  As  to  the  Chamber  of  Repre- 
sentatives, hardly  one  hundred  thousand  electors 
made  their  appearance  in  the  electoral  colleges. 
Real  enthusiasm  no  longer  reigned  anywhere  except 
in  the  army,  and  it  alone  gave  prestige  to  the  last 
fete  of  the  Empire.  As  usual,  the  account  of  it  in 
the  Moniteur  was  a  dithyramb.  "  Never  was  there 
a  fete  more  national,"  said  the  official  journal,  ''never 
did  a  spectacle  more  imposing  and  more  affecting 
meet  the  eyes  of  the  French  people.  All  that  takes 
possession  of  and  elevates  the  soul,  the  prayers  of 
religion,  the  pact  of  a  great  people  with  its  monarch, 
France  represented  by  the  elite  of  its  citizens,  culti- 


146  ELBA,   AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

vators,  merchants,  magistrates,  warriors,  assembled 
around  the  throne,  an  immense  population  covering 
the  Champ-de-Mars  and  uniting  itself  in  spirit  to  the 
great  objects  of  this  magnificent  ceremony,  excited 
as  ardent  enthusiasm  as  any  of  which  the  most  mem- 
orable epochs  have  left  a  souvenir."  A  good  deal 
must  be  subtracted  from  this  lyricism.  Sadness  un- 
derlay all  the  solemnities,  and  sombre  presentiments 
took  possession  of  men's  souls. 

In  the  Champ-de-Mars,  the  theatre  of  the  Federa- 
tion of  July  14, 1790,  there  had  been  erected  in  haste 
some  decorations  as  ephemeral  as  everything  else 
was  in  those  days.  The  imperial  throne  was  placed 
in  front  of  the  Military  School,  in  the  centre  of  a  vast 
semicircular  enclosure  with  double  tiers  of  seats  to 
right  and  left,  forming  an  amphitheatre  capable  of 
seating  fifteen  thousand  spectators.  A  third  tier, 
facing  the  throne,  was  open,  and  an  altar  was  set  up 
in  the  middle  of  it.  About  six  hundred  feet  beyond 
the  altar  rose  another  solitary  throne  which  domi- 
nated the  entire  Champ-de-Mars.  Troops  to  the  num- 
ber of  fifty  thousand,  twenty-seven  thousand  of  them 
being  National  Guards,  passed  in  review  before  the 
Emperor.  An  immense  crowd  covered  all  the  rising 
grounds  of  the  Champ-de-Mars  even  to  the  Seine. 

Napoleon  made  his  appearance  in  the  carriage 
used  at  his  coronation,  drawn  by  eight  horses  ;  he 
wore  the  silk  habit,  the  plumed  hat,  and  the  imperial 
mantle.  Nothing  was  lacking  to  his  cortege,  neither 
great  officers  of  the  crown,  chamberlains,  pages,  nor 


THE  FIELD   OF  MAY.  147 

heralds-at-arms.  The  marshals  rode  on  horseback 
beside  his  carriage.  His  brothers,  Lucien,  Joseph, 
and  Jerome,  wore  mantles  of  white  taffeta  embroi- 
dered with  gold,  and  the  Arch-Chancellor  Cambaceres 
one  of  blue  velvet  sown  with  bees. 

Let  the  Emperor  enjoy  for  the  last  time  the  joys 
of  sovereignty  !  Let  him  meditate  on  these  theatri- 
cal pomps  whose  inanity  he  must  by  this  time  com- 
prehend !  These  daises,  this  tinsel,  these  plumes, 
this  gilding,  —  how  much  longer  will  they  last  ?  At 
the  bottom  of  the  censers  but  a  few  grains  of  incense 
now  remain.  What  has  become  of  the  time  when 
the  great  nation  believed  itself  invincible  ?  How 
different  from  the  present  solemnity  was  that  of  the 
distribution  of  the  eagles  on  the  morrow  of  the 
coronation!  How  sad  they  look,  this  King  of  Spain, 
this  King  of  Westphalia,  for  whom  so  much  blood 
has  been  shed  in  vain  !  And  the  Empress,  the  King 
of  Home,  who  were  to  be  crowned  on  this  Field  of 
May,  what  has  Providence  done  with  them?  There 
is  no  concord  in  the  fete.  The  Royalists  secretly  de- 
sire the  coming  of  the  foreigners.  The  Republicans 
regret  to  see  the  Emperor  displaying  those  pomps  of 
monarchy  which  appear  to  them  anachronistic.  The 
sceptics  make  many  reflections  when  they  behold,  on 
the  steps  of  the  throne,  Carnot,  once  a  member  of  the 
Committee  of  Public  Safety,  now  a  Count  of  the 
Empire  ;  and  beyond  him  Barrere,  the  Anacreon  of 
the  guillotine.  The  ceremonies,  splendid  as  they  are, 
are  like  the  reproduction  of  an  obsolete  play.    People 


148  ELBA,   AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

scarcely  listen  to  the  Mass,  which  is  said  by  the 
Archbishop  of  Tours,  assisted  by  the  Archbishop  of 
Bourges  and  two  other  prelates.  The  official  world 
turn  their  backs  to  the  altar.  The  drums  beat, 
and  the  Emperor  rises  to  make  his  speech.  Every- 
body pays  attention  ;  so  many  conjectures  have  been 
made  concerning  this  discourse !  Some  imagine  that 
he  is  about  to  announce  the  speedy  arrival  of  his 
wife  and  son  ;  others,  that  he  will  abdicate  either  in 
favor  of  the  King  of  Rome,  or  to  proclaim  the  Re- 
public. Others  still,  and  these  are  his  most  ardent 
partisans,  think  he  is  going  to  declare  the  country  in 
danger,  and  name  himself  Dictator.  All  these  pre- 
visions are  incorrect.  The  Emperor  announces  noth- 
ing new  in  his  discourse,  and  he  ends  it  thus : 
"  Frenchmen,  my  will  is  that  of  the  people  ;  my 
rights  are  theirs ;  my  honor,  my  glory,  my  happiness, 
cannot  be  other  than  the  honor,  the  glory,  and  the  hap- 
piness of  France."  Then  he  swears  allegiance  to  the 
Constitution,  with  Ids  hand  on  the  book  of  the  Gos- 
pels, presented  to  him  by  the  Archbishop  of  Bourges. 
Then  rise  shouts  of  "Long  live  the  Emperor!"  with 
which  some  cries  of  "  Long  live  the  Empress !  "  min- 
gle, and  awake  at  first  a  sentiment  of  surprise.  Does 
Marie  Louise  merit  to  be  thus  acclaimed?  But  the 
soldiers,  the  heroic  soldiers,  still  desire  to  believe 
in  her;  and  after  a  moment's  silence,  the  military 
deputations  brandish  their  swords  and  cry:  "Long 
live  the  Empress !  Long  live  the  King  of  Rome  ! 
We  will  fetch  them  hither  !  " 


THE   FIELD   OF  MAY.  149 

Then  the  Emperor  descended  from  the  throne,  and 
throwing  off  his  mantle,  he  places  himself  on  the  first 
step  of  the  pyramidal  platform  which  stands  in  the 
middle  of  the  Champ-de-Mars.  "  Soldiers  of  the 
National  Guard  of  the  Empire,"  he  says,  "  Soldiers 
of  the  army  and  navy,  I  confide  to  you  the  imperial 
eagle  of  the  national  colors.  Swear  to  defend  it  with 
your  blood  against  the  enemies  of  the  fatherland. 
Swear  to  die  rather  than  suffer  strangers  to  make 
laws  for  the  fatherland."  A  formidable  cry  arises: 
"  We  swear  it !  "  Deputations  from  the  different 
departments  commence  tiling  past.  To  those  from  the 
Vosges,  Napoleon  says:  ''You  are  my  old  compan- 
ions"; to  those  from  the  Rhine:  "You  have  been  the 
first,  the  most  courageous,  and  the  most  unfortunate 
in  our  disasters";  to  the  departments  of  the  Rhone: 
k*  I  was  brought  up  among  you " ;  and  to  others : 
'•Your  phalanxes  were  at  Rivoli,  at  Arcole,  at  Ma- 
rengo, at  Austerlitz."  The  ceremony  becomes  really 
grand,  for  the  army  has  retained  all  its  prestige.  Here 
is  the  Imperial  Guard  marching  by.  "Soldiers  of  the 
Old  Guard!"  cries  Napoleon,  "swear  to  surpass  your- 
selves in  the  coming  campaign.  Swear,  all  of  you,  to 
perish  rather  than  suffer  the  foreigner  to  dictate  laws 
to  our  country."  In  a  time  of  apostasies  and  perju- 
ries, these  men  will  keep  their  oath.  They  will  not 
conquer;  they  will  die. 

The  solemnity  is  over.  It  has  been  more  like  a 
funeral  than  a  fete.  The  bands  have  been  as  noisy 
as  ever,  but  there  has  been   nothing  joyous  in  their 


150  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

music.  The  drums  should  have  been  muffled  in  crape. 
Every  one  feels  vaguely  that  the  duel  in  which  France 
is  about  to  engage  with  Europe  is  unequal,  and  that 
sooner  or  later  it  must  succumb.  Napoleon  no  longer 
places  confidence  in  his  star.  He  feels  himself  already 
condemned  by  fate,  and  the  splendid  display  of  the 
Field  of  May  has  not  for  an  instant  distracted  him 
from  his  sombre  thoughts. 

Four  days  afterward,  —  Sunday,  June  4,  1815,  — 
the  Emperor  appeared  at  the  Tuileries  for  the  last 
time  but  one.  Seated  on  his  throne,  he  saw  defile 
before  him  the  electoral  college,  and  deputations 
from  the  army  and  navy.  Afterwards  he  assisted  at 
Mass,  and  then  went  with  his  attendants  to  the  great 
gallery  of  the  Louvre,  adorned  with  the  masterpieces 
of  painting,  and  there  he  conversed  with  everybody 
in  an  affable  and  easy  way.  At  eight  in  the  evening, 
a  magnificent  illumination  irradiated  the  facade  of 
the  Tuileries.  An  immense  crowd,  returning  from 
the  Champs-Elyse"es,  where  public  games  had  been 
going  on  all  day,  had  stopped  before  the  Pavilion  of 
the  Ilorloge  to  listen  to  a  grand  concert.  At  nine, 
Napoleon,  surrounded  by  his  household,  came  out  on 
the  balcony  and  gave  the  signal  for  the  fireworks  to 
be  set  off  in  the  Place  de  la  Concorde. 

Bitter  derision  of  Fortune  !  This  fete  preceded  by 
only  fifteen  days  the  greatest  disaster  of  our  history. 
Ah  !  it  was  not  illuminating  lanterns  which  should 
have  been  lighted,  but  funeral  torches ;  and  since 
there  was  to  be  a  concert  at  the  Tuileries,  they  should 


THE  FIELD   OF  MAY.  151 

have  chanted  lamentations  and  canticles  of  death. 
This  throne,  surrounded  for  the  last  time  with  so 
much  splendor,  cracks  already,  and  is  about  to  fall  to 
pieces.  One  would  say  that  France  was  singing  to 
deafen  its  own  ears.  As  he  looks  down  at  the  lights 
with  which  the  garden  sparkles,  the  Emperor  thinks 
of  the  coming  flashes  of  the  bursting  shells.  Perhaps 
a  sinister  vision  rises  before  him.  In  a  few  days,  the 
Tuileries  will  be  again  illuminated,  but  this  time  it 
will  be  to  honor  the  re-entrance  of  Louis  XVIII. 
The  gaiety  of  the  people  is  forced.  Doubt  pierces 
through  enthusiasm,  and  though  the  Moniteur  keeps 
up  its  lyrical  attitude  as  heretofore,  yet  Mene,  Mene, 
Tekel,  Upharsin,  flame  on  the  palace  walls.  In  return- 
ing  to  the  Elysde,  the  Emperor  asked  himself  this 
question,  full  of  anguish,  "  Will  there  be  any  more 
fetes  for  me  at  the  Tuileries?"'  and  a  mysterious 
voice  answered,  "Xo."  Adieu  majesty  of  the  throne; 
adieu  great  retinues ;  adieu  resounding  acclamations 
of  the  crowd  ;  adieu  triumphant  appearances  on  the 
iron  balcony  of  the  Ilorlocre  Pavilion!  Let  the  em- 
peror  give  place  now  to  the  general,  for  war  approaches 
—  war  without  its  intoxications,  without  its  trophies, 
but  with  all  it  has  of  gloom,  and  anguish,  and  fatal- 
ity ;  war  with  discouragement,  panic,  defeat,  massacre, 
and  the  order  to  retreat :  war  with  all  its  horrors, 
and  not  one  of  its  dazzling  illusions  ;  war  such  as  it 
appears  to  philosophers  by  whom  it  is  cursed,  and  to 
mothers  who  detest  it ! 

On  June  7  took  place  the  opening  of  the  Cham- 


152  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

bers  at  the  palace  of  the  Legislative  Body.  Napo- 
leon thus  linished  his  discourse :  "  It  is  possible  that 
the  first  duty  of  a  prince  may  soon  call  me  to  lead 
the  children  of  the  nation  in  order  to  fight  for  the 
fatherland.  The  army  and  I  will  do  our  duty.  As 
for  you,  peers  and  representatives,  set  the  nation  an 
example  of  confidence,  energy,  and  patriotism;  and, 
like  the  Senate  of  the  great  people  of  antiquity, 
resolve  to  die  rather  than  survive  the  dishonor  and 
degradation  of  France.  The  sacred  cause  of  the 
fatherland  will  triumph." 

No,  the  sacred  cause  of  the  fatherland  will  not 
triumph.  For  that,  other  dispositions  would  be 
necessary  than  those  of  the  Assembly  which,  even 
while  affecting  devotion  to  the  Emperor,  was  work- 
ing clandestinely  against  him.  During  his  speech 
some  of  the  representatives  seemed  to  be  studying 
the  efforts  he  was  making  to  soften  his  voice,  his 
gestures,  and  the  expression  of  his  face,  and  to  assume 
the  unaccustomed  manners  of  a  constitutional  sov- 
ereign. Lafayette,  who  was  vice-president  of  the 
Chamber,  wrote  to  a  relative  :  "  You  will  be  satisfied 
with  Napoleon's  speech ;  but  I  was  not  so  with  his 
face,  which  seemed  to  me  like  that  of  an  old  despot 
irritated  by  the  part  which  his  position  forces  him 
to  play.  Flaugergues  and  I  were  near  him  for  a 
long  time  while  people  were  getting  into  their  car- 
riages. k  You  are  looking  younger,'  he  said  to  me  : 
'  country  air  has  done  you  good.'  '  It  has  done  me 
a  great  deal  of  good,'  I  answered.     I  could  not  re- 


THE  FIE  LB   OF  MAY.  153 


turn  the  compliment,  for  I  found  him  greatly  altered, 
and  with  a  very  extraordinary  contraction  of  the 
muscles.  As  neither  of  us  was  willing  to  lower  his 
eyes,  each  of  us  read  the  other's  thoughts." 

The  address  to  the  Chamber  of  Peers  contained 
this  remark :  "  If  our  success  equals  the  justice  of 
our  cause,  France  cannot  but  reap  peace.  Our  insti- 
tutions guarantee  to  Europe  that  the  French  gov- 
ernment cannot  be  carried  away  by  the  seductions 
of  victory."  And  in  his  address  to  the  Chamber 
of  Representatives  he  said :  "  Xo  ambitious  design 
enters  the  thoughts  of  the  French  people ;  even  the 
will  of  its  victorious  prince  would  be  powerless  to 
draw  the  nation  beyond  the  limits  of  its  own  de- 
fence." Alas  !  these  precautions  against  victory  were 
most  inopportune,  most  superfluous.  Napoleon  could 
not  refrain  from  saying  sadly  to  a  deputation  from 
the  two  Chambers  when  he  appeared  for  the  last 
time  at  the  Tuileries,  Sunday,  June  11:  "The  strug- 
gle in  which  we  are  engaged  is  serious.  The  seduc- 
tion of  success  is  not  the  danger  which  threatens  us 
to-day.  The  foreigners  want  to  make  us  pass  under 
the  yoke  of  the  Caudine  Forks."  And  he  ended 
thus  his  prophetic  speech :  "The  Constitution  is  our 
rallying-point ;  it  should  be  our  polar  star  in  these 
stormv  moments.  All  political  discussion  which 
should  tend  to  diminish,  either  directly  or  indirectly, 
the  confidence  people  ought  to  place  in  its  provisions 
wotdd  be  a  misfortune  to  the  State.  We  should  find 
ourselves  in   the   midst   of  reefs  without  a   compass 


154  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

and  without  a  pilot.  The  crisis  in  which  we  are  is 
very  great.  Let  us  not  imitate  the  example  of  the 
Lower  Empire,  which,  pressed  on  all  sides  by  the 
barbarians,  made  itself  a  laughing  stock  to  poster- 
ity by  wrangling  over  abstract  questions  at  the  very 
moment  when  the  battering-ram  was  breaking  down 
the  city  walls." 

On  Monday,  June  12,  1815,  at  half-past  three  in 
the  morning,  and  after  bidding  adieu  to  his  ministers 
and  embracing  Queen  Hortense,  Napoleon  left  the 
Tuileries  to  take  command  of  the  army  which,  six 
days  later,  was  to  fight  at  Waterloo.  Catching  sight 
of  General  Bertrand's  wife  just  as  he  was  about  get- 
ting into  his  carriage,  he  took  her  hand,  and  said,  as 
if  he  had  already  a  presentiment  of  Saint  Helena, 
"Let  us  hope,  Madame  Bertrand,  that  we  may  not 
soon  have  to  regret  the  Island  of  Elba." 


X. 


WATERLOO. 

"  Waterloo  !  Waterloo  !  Waterloo  !     O  plain  of  sorrow ! 
Like  a  wave  that  boils  in  an  urn  too  narrow, 
In  thy  circle  of  wood,  and  hill,  and  plain, 
Pale  Death  commingled  the  ranks  of  slain. 
There  'twas  France  against  all  Europe  —  impact  gory ! 
There  'twas  God  betrayed  the  hero's  hope  of  glory. 
Thou  hadst  deserted,  Victory,  and  Fate  was  worn. 
O  Waterloo  !     I  weep,  then  cease  to  mourn  ; 
For  these  last  soldiers  of  our  latest  war 
Were  grand  ;  the  whole  earth  they  had  crushed  before, 
Chased  twenty  kings,  crossed  Alps  and  crossed  the  Rhine, 
In  brazen  clarions  sang  their  spirit  fine !  " 

IT  is  thus  that  Victor  Hugo,  that  Napoleon  of 
poets,  has  had  the  force  to  celebrate  Waterloo! 
But  what  a  hymn  of  mourning!  what  a  sombre  and 
lugubrious  harmony !  Never  has  the  French  lyre 
given  forth  more  doleful  sounds. 

Beranger,  on  his  part,  was  unwilling  that  the 
fatal  name  of  Waterloo  should  be  pronounced  in 
any  song  of  his  :  — 

"  In  Athens,  who  with  Cha?ronea's  name, 
Ever  united  sounds  harmonious? 
Dethroned  by  Fate.  Athens  cursed  Philip's  fame, 
And  doubted  gods  once  held  victorious. 

155 


156  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

And  such  a  day  beheld  our  Empire  fall, 
Beheld  the  stranger  bringing  in  his  chains, 

Beheld  even  Frenchmen  basely  smile  in  thrall. 
Its  name  shall  make  no  discord  in  my  strains." 

We  find  again  the  same  sentiment  which  inspired 
the  song-writer,  at  the  close  of  the  Memoirs  of  Gen- 
eral de  Segur,  who  has  traced  the  glories  of  the 
imperial  epopee  in  prose,  which  at  times  assumes  an 
epic  turn.  "  Let  others,"  he  cries,  "  recite  the  heroic 
and  marvellous  details  of  Napoleon's  return  from 
Elba,  his  attempts,  at  first,  to  conciliate  the  Coali- 
tion, and  then  to  prepare  himself  for  the  combat ; 
in  fine,  his  secret  and  sorrowful  presentiments  from 
the  morrow  of  his  arrival,  his  lost  faith  in  his  star, 
and  the  disastrous  result  of  that  third  and  last 
effort  of  an  incomparable  genius  against  his  destiny, 
which  had  willed  that  the  greatness  of  his  eleva- 
tion should  equal  that  of  his  downfall.  However 
worthy  of  memory  on  this  subject  may  be  the  rela- 
tions given  me  by  eyewitnesses  such  as  M.  Mollien, 
my  father,  Benjamin  Constant,  Marshal  Reille,  Mont- 
yon,  Turenne,  Prince  d'Eckmiihl,  and  others,  I  own 
that  courage  fails  me  to  recount  so  many  bitterly 
painful  details." 

Alas  !  we  cannot  pass  over  this  fatal  day  in  silence. 
It  is  the  denouement  of  the  terrible  drama  whose 
vicissitudes  we  have  essayed  to  trace.  For  a  long 
time  we  hesitated;  the  pen  dropped  from  our  hand. 
This  battle,  more  sombre  than  Cressy,  or  Poitiers, 
or   Agincourt;  this   defeat,  which  has  no  more  been 


WATERLOO.  157 


avenged  by  France  than  Zama  was  by  Carthage,  this 
great  national  catastrophe,  must  be  related. 

Napoleon  had  only  about  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  men  to  oppose  to  the  two  hundred  and 
thirty  thousand  composing  the  armies  of  Wellington 
and  Bliicher.  However,  he  did  not  despair  of  suc- 
cess, and  he  counted  on  renewing  the  tactics  which 
had  proved  efficacious  so  many  times  already.  To 
attack  the  two  armies  separately,  to  surprise  the 
Prussians,  and  then  to  fall  upon  the  English  before 
they  should  have  time  to  rally  their  different  corps,  — 
such  was  his  plan  of  campaign.  During  the  night  of 
June  14-15  an  ill-omened  event  occurred :  General 
de  Bourmont,  followed  by  live  officers,  who,  like  him- 
self, were  Bourbon  partisans,  went  over  to  the  enemy. 
"  Their  names,''  the  Emperor  said,  later  on,  "  will  be 
held  in  execration  so  long  as  the  French  people  form 
a  nation.  This  desertion  increased  the  anxiety  of  the 
soldiers."  On  June  15,  the  French  army  crossed  the 
Sambre,  and,  in  a  fiery  proclamation.  Napoleon  re- 
minded his  troops  that  this  day  was  the  anniversary 
of  Marengo  and  Friedland.  A  success  of  the  advance 
guard  encouraged  them.  The  English  were  defend- 
ing Quatre-Bras  as  a  rallying-point,  and  the  Prussians, 
Fleurus  and  Sombref.  On  June  lt»,  while  Marshal 
Ney  failed  at  Quatre-Bras,  the  Emperor  gained  the 
sanguinary  battle  of  Ligny  against  the  Prussians. 
The  struggle  became  ferocious  by  dint  of  being  stub- 
born. It  seemed  as  if  each  man  recognized  his  mor- 
tal enemy,  and  rejoiced  because  the  moment  of  ven- 


158  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

geance  had  come.  Quarter  was  neither  asked  nor 
given.  Bliicher,  who  had  had  a  horse  killed  under 
him,  in  dismay  ordered  a  retreat.  But  the  untir- 
ing septuagenarian's  repulse  had  not  been  an  utter 
overthrow.  The  Prussians,  who  still  numbered  more 
than  ninety  thousand  combatants,  retreated  in  good 
order,  and  Marshal  Grouchy,  whom  the  Emperor 
ordered  to  pursue  them,  had  only  thirty-two  thou- 
sand. Napoleon  turning  back  on  the  English  army 
at  Quatre-Bras,  Wellington  evacuated  the  position 
and  retired  to  Mont-Saint-Jean,  near  Waterloo.  The 
forest  of  Soignes  extends  behind  Mont-Saint-Jean. 
The  English  general  drew  up  against  it.  The  hilly 
character  of  the  ground,  which  nature  has  fortified, 
permitted  him  to  maintain  a  formidable  defence.  The 
troops  on  both  sides  were  worn  out  with  fatigue. 
The  temperature  betokened  a  storm,  and  the  air  was 
heavy,  with  thirty  degrees  of  heat.  In  the  afternoon 
of  June  1 7,  the  sky,  which  had  been  covered  by  thick 
clouds,  discharged  them  in  torrents  of  water.  At  the 
end  of  a  few  minutes  the  whole  region  was  changed 
into  a  hopeless  marsh.  The  rain  kept  on  all  day, 
all  night,  all  the  next  morning.  A  solemn  and  terri- 
ble night  was  that  of  June  17-18,  which  has  been 
called  "  The  Vigil  of  Waterloo."  The  two  armies 
face  eacli  other  in  that  feverish  expectation  which 
precedes  decisive  battles.  No  shelter  against  the 
drenching  rain.  They  stick  fast  in  mud  above  their 
knees.  No  moon,  no  stars.  The  darkness  is  pro- 
found, impenetrable.     The    men   lose   themselves  in 


WATERLOO.  159 


quickset  hedges.  They  stumble  against  each  other 
and  fall  head  over  heels  down  ravines.  Curses  min- 
gle with  the  roaring  of  the  wind.  The  French  army 
believed  itself  already  betrayed. 

What  must  be  passing  in  Napoleon's  heart  ?  What 
is  he  going  to  risk,  this  great  gamester,  on  his  final 
throw  ?  More  than  his  life ;  his  crown  and  his  lib- 
erty :  more  than  his  crown  and  his  liberty ;  the 
fortune  of  France.  All  these  men  who  will  see 
but  one  more  sun,  will  die  for  him,  for  him  alone. 
The  horizon  is  all  aflame  with  bivouac  fires,  as  it 
was  on  the  eve  of  Austerlitz.  But  they  are  not 
now  omens  of  good  fortune  as  they  were  in  1805. 
These  lights  resemble  a  conflagration  more  than 
an  apotheosis.  Napoleon  does  not  sleep.  He  had 
been  eighteen  hours  in  the  saddle  on  June  15,  and 
had  slept  but  three  hours  before  the  battle  of  Ligny. 
On  the  16th,  he  was  again  for  eighteen  hours  on 
horseback.  On  the  17th,  he  rose  at  five  in  the 
morning.  On  the  night  of  the  17th  and  18th,  it  is  he 
who  makes  the  reconnoissance,  his  feet  in  the  mud, 
his  head  under  the  bridle-bits.  In  vain  he  seeks  to 
remind  himself  of  all  his  victories,  to  take  his  former 
attitudes,  to  make  effective  speeches  as  of  old.  At 
heart  he  is  troubled.  To  his  physical  fatigue  a  moral 
one  is  added.  Once  too  greedy  of  emotions,  he  is 
now  sated  witli  them.  His  officers,  his  soldiers,  are 
not  less  perplexed  than  he  is.  Their  devotion  is 
boundless,  but  it  assumes  the  character  of  rage, 
of    frenzv.     The    chiefs    feel    themselves    still    more 


160  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

threatened  by  the  balls  of  a  French  reaction  than  by 
those  of  foreigners.  An  indescribable  moral  malady 
torments  these  men  of  bronze.  The  night  seems 
long  to  them.  They  are  in  haste  to  precipitate  them- 
selves, heads  lowered,  into  the  tempest  of  fire,  to  seek 
there  a  refuge  against  the  torment  of  their  thoughts. 
But  all  these  anxieties,  these  sufferings,  these  ago- 
nies, seem  to  concentrate  themselves  in  a  single  soul, 
the  soul  of  Napoleon.  His  eagle  eye  measures  the 
profundity  of  the  abyss.  He  knows  what  his  defeat 
will  be  if  he  is  vanquished.  And  yet  his  countenance 
betrays  no  anxiety.  He  seeks  to  convey  to  the  minds 
of  others  a  confidence  which  he  does  not  feel,  and,  as 
in  all  great  critical  moments,  he  affects  serenity  and 
imperturbable  calm. 

Day  is  about  to  break.  A  few  rays  of  pallid  sun- 
light light  up  the  fatal  plain.  Battle  must  be  given 
at  once,  before  the  Prussians  have  time  to  come  up. 
But  the  ground  is  so  wet  that  neither  the  artillery, 
nor  even  the  cavalry,  can  take  a  step.  They  will 
wait;  and  this  waiting  will  be  the  ruin  of  the  French 
army,  whose  sole  chance  would  be  to  crush  the  Eng- 
lish before  the  Prussians  come.  Alas  !  how  often 
are  the  desires  of  man  imprudent !  What  Napoleon 
desires  above  all  is  that  Wellington  shall  not  beat 
a  retreat.  The  unfortunate  Emperor  longs  ardently 
for  the  battle,  and  the  battle  will  be  Waterloo. 

The  rain  has  ceased.  In  a  few  hours  the  ground 
will  lie  practicable  again.  Napoleon  still  has  illu- 
sions.    Having  seventy-two  thousand  men  to  oppose 


WATERLOO.  161 


to  seventy-six  thousand  seven  hundred,  he  relies  on 
Ins  genius  to  conquer.  He  would  have  conquered, 
in  fact,  if  he  had  been  joined  by  Grouchy  instead  of 
being  outflanked  by  Blucher.  All  depends  on  that. 
If  the  English  and  Prussians  make  their  junction  on 
the  field,  the  French  army  will  be  destroyed.  The 
Emperor  will  not  even  admit  that  such  a  contingency 
is  possible.  At  half-past  eight,  when  breakfasting, 
he  says  to  the  generals  surrounding  him,  "There  are 
ninety  chances  for  us  to  ten  against  us."' 

The  Imperial  army  moves  forward  in  eleven  col- 
umns, and  descends  from  the  high  grounds  it  had 
occupied  to  take  up  its  positions  for  lighting.  These 
eleven  columns,  which  an  English  historian  has  com- 
pared to  enormous  serpents,  their  scales  shining  in 
the  sunlight,  march  slowly  to  the  sound  of  trumpets 
and  the  beating  of  drums.  The  military  bands  play 
the  Chant  du  depart,  and  the  famous  air,  Veillons  au 
saint  de  V Empire.  It  is  half-past  ten.  Xapoleon 
passes  in  front  of  the  troops,  who  are  drunk  with 
enthusiasm,  and  utter  frenzied  acclamations. 

At  half-past  eleven,  the  Emperor  gives  the  signal: 
the  cannonading  begins.  The  French  take  the  wood 
of  Goumont.  The  ground  has  dried  up.  It  will  be 
soaked  again,  not  with  water,  but  with  blood. 

A  few  leagues  distant,  near  Ghent,  a  man  who  is 
taking  a  solitary  walk  through  peaceful  fields,  and 
reading  Cn-sar's  Commentaries  as  lie  goes,  stops  to 
listen  to  some  vague,  far-off  rumbling  noise.  He 
asks  himself  whether  it  is  not  the  rolling  of  distant 


162  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

thunder,  and  seeing  that  the  sky  is  still  full  of  clouds, 
he  deliberates  whether  to  continue  his  walk  or  return 
before  the  storm  breaks.  Again  he  listens.  No 
more  noise,  unless  it  be  the  cry  of  a  waterfowl  in  the 
rushes,  or  the  striking  of  a  village  clock.  He  goes 
on  his  way.  The  rumbling  recommences.  Is  it  the 
sound  of  a  battle  ?  he  asks  himself.  A  south  wind, 
rising,  brings  distinctly  the  distant  echo  of  the  detona- 
tion of  artillery.  Now  no  more  doubt.  It  is  a  battle. 
What  a  striking  contrast :  here,  calm  unalterable ; 
a  few  women  weeding  among  the  beans :  down  yon- 
der the  unchaining  of  a  hell,  the  rain  of  fire,  the  hur- 
ricane of  howitzers  and  shells. 

This  solitary  stroller  is  a  Frenchman,  the  bitter 
enemy  of  Napoleon,  the  author  of  the  brochure, 
JBuonaparte  et  les  Bourbons, —  Chateaubriand.  "  Silent 
auditor  of  the  formidable  decrees  of  the  Fates,"  he 
says  to  us,  "  I  would  have  been  less  moved  had  I 
been  in  the  midst  of  the  melee.  The  peril,  the  firing, 
the  pressure  of  death,  would  have  given  me  no  time 
to  meditate ;  but  alone,  under  a  tree  in  the  fields  of 
Ghent,  as  if  I  were  the  shepherd  of  the  flocks  brows- 
ing around  me,  the  burden  of  my  reflections  over- 
powered me."  And  lie  adds  these  noble  words  in 
which  the  partisan  is  silenced  by  the  patriot :  4k  Al- 
though Napoleon's  success  would  mean  to  me  an 
eternal  exile,  my  country  at  this  moment  seized  pos- 
session of  my  heart.  My  wishes  were  all  for  the 
oppressor  of  France,  if,  in  saving  our  honor  lie  could 
wrest  us  from  foreign  domination.     Would  Welling- 


WATERLOO.  163 


ton  triumph?  Then  legitimacy  would  re-enter  Paris 
behind  these  red  uniforms  which  had  just  re  dyed 
their  purple  in  French  blood.  As  the  chariots  of  its 
consecration,  royalty  should  then  have  ambulance 
wagons  tilled  with  our  mutilated  grenadiers.  What 
would  a  restoration  be,  accomplished  under  such 
auspices  ?  I  recount  but  a  very  small  fraction  of 
the  ideas  which  tormented  me.  Every  discharge  of 
cannon  gave  me  a  shock  and  redoubled  the  beating 
of  my  heart." 

At  this  same  moment,  Xapoleon  is  experiencing  a 
still  more  violent  emotion.  Looking  constantly  in  the 
direction  whence  he  hoped  to  see  Grouchy  coming,  he 
sees  on  the  horizon,  near  the  chapel  of  Saint  Lambert, 
something'  indeterminate  and  vague  which  excites 
first  his  curiosity  and  then  his  fear.  "  What  do  you 
see  towards  Saint  Lambert  ? "  he  said  to  Marshal 
Soult.  The  Major-General  answered  :  "  I  think  I  see 
five  or  six  thousand  men.  It  is  probably  one  of 
Grouchy's  detachments."  All  the  glasses  of  the 
staff  arc  at  once  levelled  on  this  point.  Some  think 
they  arc  not  troops,  but  trees  :  some  that  they  are 
columns  in  position  :  others  that  they  are  troops  on 
the  march.  If  so,  is  it  Grouchy  or  Bliicher?  On 
the  answer  to  this  question  will  Jiang  the  fate  of  the 
day.  At  such  a  distance  it  is  impossible  to  distin- 
guish the  French  uniform  from  the  Prussian,  as  both 
of  them  are  blue. 

Then  the  Emperor  calls  my  grandfather,  General 
Domon,    formerly    captain    of    Murat's    Guards,  and 


164  ELBA,   AND    THE  HUNDRED   DAYS. 

orders  him  to  make  a  reconnoissance  with  his  division 
of  light  artillery,  accompanied  by  that  of  General 
Subervic.  If  the  troops  are  French,  he  will  join 
them ;  if  they  are  Prussians,  he  will  keep  them  back. 
At  the  same  time  —  it  is  an  hour  past  noon  —  Napo- 
leon sends  a  despatch  to  Grouchy  ordering  him  to 
come  up.  But  will  the  order  reach  him  in  time  ? 
And  where  is  Grouchy  ?  No  one  knows.  At  the  same 
moment  Marshal  Ney  attacks  La  Haye  Sainte  in  an 
attempt  to  pierce  the  English  centre.  A  furious 
struggle  ensues,  but  produces  no  result.  At  half-past 
two,  both  armies,  as  if  by  a  tacit  understanding, 
accord  each  other  a  momentary  truce,  like  two 
athletes  who  take  time  to  breathe.  The  first  act  of 
the  battle  is  over.  They  are  already  a  long  way  off 
from  those  ninety  chances  against  ten  of  which  the 
Emperor  spoke  this  morning. 

A  terrible  piece  of  news  reaches  Napoleon :  Gene- 
ral Domon  sends  word  that  there  is  no  longer  any 
room  for  doubt:  the  troops  debouching  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Saint  Lambert  are  Prussians  ;  and  Grouch}', 
instead  of  marching  to  Waterloo,  is  going  toward 
Wavres.  Perhaps  this  would  be  the  moment  to  hurl 
all  the  troops  upon  the  English  army,  before  the 
Prussians  arrive.  But  the  great  gamester  hesitates 
to  risk  his  last  stake,  lie  would  like  to  preserve  that 
marvellous  Imperial  Guard  which  has  been  so  faithful 
to  him,  which  is  his  pride,  his  glory.  The  thought 
that  this  army  of  Waterloo  is  his  only  one,  while  the 
military  resources  of  the  Coalition  are  inexhaustible, 


WATERLOO.  165 


paralyzes  his  audacity.  With  his  last  army  destroyed, 
what  will  then  be  left  him.  And,  even  granting  a 
victory  over  the  English  and  Prussians,  with  what 
shall  he  resist  the  innumerable  troops  of  Austria  and 
Russia  ? 

It  is  three  o'clock.  The  second  act  of  the  battle 
commences.  The  Emperor  sends  a  brigade  of  cuiras- 
siers as  a  reinforcement  to  Marshal  Ney,  who  is  still 
nniking  heroic  efforts  to  penetrate  the  English  centre. 
And  behold,  without  orders,  and  carried  away  by  an 
instinctive  movement,  as  if  by  the  attraction  of  I 
know  not  what  irresistible  magnet,  the  whole  cuiras- 
sier corps  follows  this  brigade.  The  chasseurs  and 
lancers  of  the  Guard  move  in  the  same  direction.  In 
vain  the  Emperor  cries,  "It  is  too  soon."  The  cav- 
alry once  started,  nothing  can  arrest  its  rush.  It  is  a 
torrent  which  carries  everything  away.  Then  begins 
an  epic  struggle,  unexampled  perhaps  in  the  military 
annals  of  any  people,  a  formidable  duel  of  cavalry 
against  a  whole  army,  infantry  and  artillery,  aided, 
too,  by  cavalry  equal  in  numbers  to  the  assailants. 
The  Duke  of  Wellington  will  say,  some  years  later, 
"  I  have  never  seen  anything  more  admirable  in  war 
than  the  ten  or  twelve  reiterated  charge,  of  the 
French  cuirassiers  upon  troops  of  all  arms."  Ney 
has  never  been  more  intrepid.  It  is  a  miracle  that 
this  hero  of  heroes  still  lives.  "Be  sure,  my  friend," 
he  says  to  General  Erlon,  "that  for  you  and  me,  if 
we  do  not  die  here  under  the  English  balls,  nothing 
remains  but  to  fall  miserably  under  those  of  the  e*mi- 


166  ELBA,    AND    THE  HUNDRED  DATS. 

greW  Wellington  is  not  less  heroic.  His  tenacity 
is  unshakable.  To  an  officer  who  asks  for  instruc- 
tions in  case  he  should  be  slain,  he  answers :  "  I  have 
no  instructions  to  give ;  there  is  only  one  thing  to 
be  clone  —  to  fight  to  the  last  man  and  the  last 
moment." 

It  is  five  in  the  evening.  In  spite  of  its  furious 
charges,  in  spite  of  its  gigantic  efforts,  the  French 
cavalry  cannot  accomplish  the  impossible.  It  de- 
mands the  infantry  of  the  Guard,  it  demands  the  Em- 
peror. Napoleon  still  hesitates.  Physical  sufferings 
come  to  add  to  his  perplexities.  He  can  hardly  sit 
upon  his  horse.  Instead  of  multiplying  himself,  as 
he  had  been  used  to  on  battle-fields  where  his  presence 
diffused  emulation  and  enthusiasm,  he  remains  mo- 
tionless, suffering  so  much  that  he  falls  at  times  into 
a  sort  of  lethargy.  What  a  gradation  in  the  senti- 
ments, which  ever  since  morning  have  taken  posses- 
sion of  his  soul !  At  first,  confidence,  illusion,  the 
intoxication  of  battle ;  then,  suddenly,  doubt,  fear, 
augmenting  from  hour  to  hour,  from  minute  to 
minute,  the  face  which  grows  troubled,  which  at  one 
moment  becomes  paler  than  a  corpse  ;  then  the  fright- 
ful truth  appearing  in  its  full  proportions,  the  last 
hope  crumbling,  then  cataclysm,  overthrow,  annihu 
lation. 

Grouchy  does  not  arrive.  Is  he  guilty?  No.  His 
instructions  were  obscure.  The  officer  sent  to  meet 
him  did  not  join  him  soon  enough.  In  marching 
toward  Wavres,  the  unfortunate  Marshal  thought  he 


WATERLOO.  167 


was  acting  in  accordance  with  the  mind  as  well  as 
with  the  formal  orders  of  the  Emperor.  He  may 
have  been  mistaken,  but  he  was  so  in  good  faith ;  and 
history,  if  it  is  just,  will  incriminate  his  loyalty  no 
more  than  his  courage.  His  highest  ambition  would 
have  been  the  fate  of  Desaix.  But,  alas!  the  star  of 
Marengo  no  longer  shone. 

Ah !  what  tortures,  what  anguish  in  the  heart  of 
Napoleon,  that  Titan  thunder-stricken !  The  fatal 
moment  has  come  when  lie  must  throw  his  last 
card  upon  the  gaming-table,  the  card  which  means 
despair.  Sixty-five  thousand  Prussians  inundate  the 
battle-field.  They  come  to  act  in  concert  with  fifty- 
five  thousand  Anglo-Germans.  There  remain  only 
fifty  thousand  Frenchmen  able  to  combat  these  one 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  enemies.  The  infantry 
of  the  Guard  are  fromo-  to  charge.  The  last  act  of 
the  battle  opens. 

"  All,  those  of  Friedland  and  those  of  Rivoli, 
Knowing  that  on  this  holiday  they  were  about  to  die, 
Saluted  their  divinity,  erect  amid  the  storm, 
One  cry,  'Long  live  the  Emperor!'  the  last  their  pale  lips  form. 
Then,  with  the  music  on  ahead,  all  passioidess  and  slow, 
And  smiling  at  the  English  guns  black  yawning  there  below. 
The  Imperial  Guard  went  forward  into  the  furnace  flame." 

Calm,  silent,  not  firing  a  single  gun.  they  cross  the 
plateau,  and  march  against  the  English  lines.  They 
are  wiped  out  by  cannon  and  musketry:  out  of  the 
two  thousand  nine  hundred  heroes  who  offered  this 
supreme  attack,  hardly  eight  hundred  are  left  stand- 


168  ELBA,   AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

ing.     It  is  nearly  eight  o'clock.     All  is  over.     The 
Emperor  has  lost  the  battle. 

"They  went,  all  armed,  front  high,  grave,  stoical. 
Not  one  shrank  back.     Sleep,  dead  heroical ! 
Their  waiting  comrades,  wavering  in  their  place, 
Beheld  the  Old  Guard  perish.  —  Then,  with  face 
All  pale  and  scared,  Disaster  raised  her  voice 
Despairing  —  giant  she,  with  moments  choice 
To  fright  battalions  haughty,  and  to  change 
Their  flags  to  tatters  —  spectre  made  of  smoke 
Who  as  she  rises  grows  —  Disaster  broke 
On  every  soldier's  gaze,  to  every  man, 
Wringing  her  hands  and  crying,  '  'Scape  who  can  ! ' "  * 

Marshal  Ney,  hatless,  his  sword  broken  in  his 
hand,  his  clothes  ragged  with  bullet-holes,  —  takes  a 
handful  of  men  with  him,  and  flings  himself  once 
more  into  the  melde.  "  Come  on,  my  friends,"  he 
cries;  "see  how  a  marshal  of  France  dies."  Alas! 
the  hero  will  not  die  upon  the  battle-field. 

Napoleon,  owning  himself  vanquished,  has  just 
given  the  signal  to  retreat.  It  was  to  render  that 
possible,  and  to  avert  the  utter  extermination  of 
what  had  been  the  French  army,  that  the  veterans 
of  the  Guard  had  given  themselves  to  death  like  the 
Spartans  at  Thermopyke.  The  four  or  five  squares 
of  this  heroic  infantry  in  the  midst  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand  enemies,  resemble,  as  the  nat- 
ional historian  has  said,  the  summits  of  a  rock  which 
the  furious  ocean  is  covering  with  foam.  The  Guard 
dies,  and  does  not  surrender! 

1  Victor  Hu£o,  Les  Chatiments. 


WATERLOO.  109 


A  patriotic  painter,  Hippolyte  Bellange',  whose 
radiant  canvas,  La  Revue  au  Carrousel,  has  so  well 
represented  the  joyous  and  triumphant  army,  has 
depicted  the  death  agony  of  the  Imperial  Guard  in 
one  of  the  most  striking  pictures  that  exist.  This 
painting,  lugubrious  and  doleful,  makes  one  shudder. 
The  sky  is  sombre,  gloomy  —  one  of  Gericault's  skies. 
Behind  a  rampart  of  English  corpses,  in  red  uniforms, 
three  grenadiers  of  the  Guard  still  stand  erect.  One 
of  them  is  firing  his  last  shot.  Another,  making  a 
furious  gesture,  shakes  his  clinched  hand  at  the 
enemy.  The  third  lifts  his  arms  to  heaven  and  cries 
once  more,  "  Long  live  the  Emperor !  "  The  pen 
would  essay  in  vain  to  describe  what  there  is  of 
ferocious  energy,  grandiose  wrath,  and  heroic  despair 
in  the  haughty  attitudes  and  contracted  features  of 
these  three  veterans,  dying  as  they  had  lived.  Ill, 
and  already  himself  taken  possession  of  by  the  shad- 
ows of  death,  Hippolyte  Bellange'  collected  all  his 
forces  to  create  this  canvas,  the  testament,  as  it  were, 
of  his  talent,  so  military  and  so  French. 

Honor  to  the  grenadiers  of  the  Guard,  to  the 
soldiers,  men  of  the  people,  who  have  pushed  further 
back  the  boundaries  of  devotion,  courage,  and  the 
spirit  of  sacrifice  !  Their  blood  will  be  fruitful.  In 
the  eyes  of  posterity  they  will  have  elevated  a  defeat 
to  the  level  of  the  most  famous  victories.  Like  the 
martyrs  of  religion,  these  martyrs  of  glory  will  have 
triumphed  even  unto  death.      Gloria  viotis  ! 

And  Napoleon,  where  is  he?     The  shadows  of  twi- 


170  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

light  have  overspread  the  plain.  He  is  no  longer 
seen.  Some  say  that  he  is  wounded,  others  that  he 
is  slain.  The  soldiers,  no  longer  feeling  themselves 
protected  by  his  genius,  break  their  ranks.  There 
are  some  who  blow  out  their  brains,  unwilling  to 
survive  defeat.  Later  on  he  will  say,  "  Waterloo ! 
Waterloo !  It  is  there  I  should  have  died."  Like 
Ney,  he  has  not  succeeded  in  getting  killed.  Sur- 
rounded by  a  square  of  grenadiers  of  the  Guard, 
under  command  of  Major  Martenot,  he  is  marching 
pell-mell  with  a  crowd  of  wounded  in  the  midst  of 
a  handful  of  veterans  who  make  a  rampart  for  him 
of  their  bodies.  A  few  days  later  Wellington  will 
write :  "  I  cannot  express  with  what  regret  and 
sadness  I  look  around  me.  The  dear-bought  glory 
which  follows  such  actions  does  not  console.  ...  In 
truth,  the  losses  I  have  experienced  have  so  beaten 
and  broken  me  down,  that  I  have  not  courage  to 
rejoice  over  the  advantages  we  have  obtained."  If 
the  victor  speaks  thus,  what  must  the  vanquished 
say,  when  the  vanquished  is  Napoleon  ?  To  the 
joyous  music  played  by  the  bands  this  morning  must 
succeed  the  De  profundis,  the  Dies  tree,  the  lamenta- 
tions of  Jeremiah.  What  reflections  must  not  lie  who 
had  been  the  victor  of  Austerlitz  have  made  at  this 
moment  on  the  pitifulness  of  ambition,  the  caprices 
of  fortune,  the  immense  share  which  is  left  to  chance 
in  earthly  things,  on  the  slender  thread  on  which 
hang  the  occurrences  of  this  world  !  A  secret  voice, 
more  eloquent  than  that  of  any  of  the  sermonizers 


WATERLOO.  171 


who  have  exhorted  against  pride,  was  whispering  in 
the  fugitive's  soul.  The  saying  of  the  Gospel  veri- 
fied itself,  "  For  all  they  who  take  the  sword  shall 
perish  by  the  sword."  They  say  that  the  man  of 
bronze  wept.  To  deplore  such  a  catastrophe,  would 
an  ocean  of  tears  suffice ') 


XI 


NAPOLEON  II. 


THE  battle  of  Waterloo  was  fought  on  Sunday, 
June  18, 1815.  On  that  clay  the  Parisians  were 
reading  in  the  Moniteur  the  proclamation  of  June  14, 
in  which  the  Emperor  had  said  to  his  army :  "  Sol- 
diers, to-day  is  the  anniversary  of  Marengo  and  of 
Friedland,  which  twice  decided  the  destiny  of  Eu- 
rope. Then,  as  after  Austerlitz  and  Wagram,  we 
were  too  generous ;  we  believed  the  protestations 
and  oaths  of  the  Princes  whom  we  left  on  their 
thrones.  To-day,  however,  having  combined  among 
themselves,  they  seek  to  attack  the  independence  of 
France  and  her  most  sacred  rights.  They  have  be- 
gun the  most  unjust  aggressions.  Let  us  go  to  meet 
them!  Neither  they  nor  we  are  any  longer  the  same 
men!" 

On  Monday,  June  19, —  O  irony  of  fate!— a  hun- 
dred discharges  of  cannon  from  the  Invalides  an- 
nounced a  victory  to  the  Parisians, — alas!  a  victory 
already  old, —  that  of  Ligny.  The  same  day  the 
Ghent  Moniteur  published  the  following:  "The  18th 
ended,  in  the  happiest  manner,  for  the  Allies,  the 
172 


NAPOLEON   II.  17< 


sanguinary  and  bitterly  contested  struggle  which 
had  lasted  since  the  loth.  Bonaparte's  army,  French 
in  name  only,  since  it  is  the  terror  and  scourge  of 
the  country,  has  been  vanquished  and  almost  utterly 
destroyed." 

The  immediate  consequences  of  the  battle  of 
Waterloo  were  no  less  disastrous  than  the  battle  it- 
self, liven  nightfall  did  not  interrupt  the  carnage. 
While  the  English  arm}',  worn  out  with  fatigue, 
betook  themselves  to  rest,  the  Prussian  cavalry  pur- 
sued relentlessly  the  Hying  French  troops.  The  ris- 
ing of  the  moon  facilitated  this  man-hunt.  At  Ligny 
the  Imperial  Guard  had  cried  "  No  quarter  !  "  and 
now  the  same  cry  came  back  upon  them  like  the 
penalty  of  retaliation.  Cannons,  military  wagons, 
baggage,  obstacles  of  all  sorts,  made  their  road  diffi- 
cult. The  confusion,  disorder,  and  terror  were  in- 
expressible. History  offers  few  examples  of  such  an 
overwhelming  disaster.  At  Charleroy  the  Emperor 
left  his  brother  Jerome,  whose  conduct  at  Waterloo 
had  been  heroic,  in  command  of  the  remnants  of  the 
army,  and  posted  to  Paris,  where  he  knew  that  the 
Royalists,  believing  his  sword  broken,  would  like  to 
break  also  his  crown  and  sceptre. 

The  joyful  salvos  of  artillery,  fired  by  the  cannon 
of  the  Invalides  on  June  1!*,  had  not  reassured  the 
Parisian  population.  Vague  presentiments  oppressed 
all  minds.  Towards  six  in  the  evening  of  June  20, 
an  aide-de-camp  of  Marshal  Davout,  Colonel  Michel, 
who  had  been  sent  by  him  for  tidings,  and  had  been 


174  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

present  at  the  end  of  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  arrived 
in  Paris  at  full  speed,  and  announced  the  disaster  to 
the  Marshal.  "  I  would  have  you  shot  for  bringing 
me  such  news  if  I  did  not  know  you,"  cried  the 
defender  of  Hamburg,  roughly.  And  the  Colonel 
answered,  "  Please  God  you  might  have  me  shot,  if 
that  would  alter  the  case." 

In  the  morning  of  June  21,  Napoleon  re-entered 
the  Elysee,  whence  he  had  departed  on  the  12th. 
How  much  had  happened  in  those  nine  days  !  Ah  ! 
how  much  reason  he  had  had  for  the  fear  he  ex- 
pressed to  General  Bertrand's  wife,  at  the  moment  of 
departure,  lest  he  might  come  to  regret  the  Island  of 
Elba.  What  a  difference  between  the  return  from 
Waterloo  and  the  return  from  Marengo,  Austerlitz, 
Jena,  and  Wagram !  When  he  stopped  at  the  flight 
of  steps  leading  to  the  Elysde,  General  Drouot,  who 
had  just  left  the  carriage  with  him,  could  not  refrain 
from  exclaiming,  "  All  is  lost ! "  Napoleon  answered 
quickly,  "  Except  honor."  It  was  the  first  time  he 
had  spoken  since  quitting  Laon.  Leaning  on  the 
arm  of  Caulaincourt,  who  had  hastened  to  meet  him, 
he  slowly  ascended  the  staircase.  "  I  need  two 
hours'  rest,"  he  said,  "  in  order  to  be  able  to  think  of 
my  affairs.  I  am  stifling !  a  bath  !  let  them  bring  me 
a  bath ! " 

At  the  Palais-Bourbon,  although  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies  did  not  begin  its  session  until  noon,  the 
greater  part  of  the  members  had  been  on  hand  since 
morning,  to  receive   news  and  talk  about  the  situa- 


NAPOLEOX   II.  175 


tion.  Fouch<S  had  said  of  the  Emperor,  "This  un- 
bridled gamester  no  longer  knows  even  how  to  win  a 
game  ;  and  what  is  to  be  done  now  with  a  player 
who  can  only  lose  ? "  Napoleon  was  going  to  be 
betrayed  by  men  as  he  had  been  by  fortune.  The 
consequences  of  Waterloo  were  to  make  it  resemble 
the  battle  of  Zama,  not  that  of  Cannae. 

Here  begins  the  death  agony  of  the  Empire.  It 
will  not  be  less  lamentable  than  the  agony  of  Roy- 
alty. Napoleon,  this  genius  so  haughty,  so  resolute, 
so  pre-eminently  the  man  of  action,  the  former  arbiter 
of  destiny,  the  Emperor  of  the  eagle  glance,  the  soul 
of  fire  and  the  will  of  iron,  is  about  to  show  himself 
as  undecided,  as  feeble,  as  timid,  as  the  martyr-king. 
M.  Alfred  Nettement  has  made  the  same  remark  in  his 
excellent  ffistoire  de  la  lieHtauration :  "Here  is  a 
man,"  he  says,  "  who  had  led  the  world  by  a  glance,  a 
nod  ;  who  had  kneaded  Europe  with  his  hands  ;  before 
whom  France  had  slain  itself  for  years.  But,  the  cir- 
cumstances changing,  the  talisman  of  victory  having 
been  broken  abroad  by  Providence  in  the  hands  of 
the  conqueror,  and  the  force  of  opinion  which  had 
rendered  all  things  easy  and  possible  altering  toward 
him  at  home,  the  same  man  is  feebleness  itself; :  he 
can  do  nothing  against  any  one,  and  everything  can 
l>e  done  against  him.  Fouchd  lords  it  over  him  ; 
Manuel  braves  him;  Lafayette  imperiously  demands 
his  abdication  ;  the  Chamber  of  the  Hundred  Days, 
which  certainly  had  nothing  in  common  with  the 
Convention,  threatens  to  depose  him,  and  gives  him 


17G  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

but  an  hour  to  make  his  abdication.  Louis  XVI. 
was  not  more  helpless,  more  inert,  more  inactive 
against  his  enemies.  Let  no  one  answer  that  Louis 
XVI.  bad  not  lost  the  battle  of  Waterloo;  he  had 
lost  the  battle  of  the  seventeenth  century  against  the 
eighteenth,  of  the  monarchy  against  revolution,  of 
religion  against  unbelief." 

What  a  lesson  for  human  pride  is  this  impotence 
of  Napoleon !  And  how  Providence  makes  us  as  it 
were  touch  with  our  hands  the  nothingness  of  those 
things  which  men  proudly  call  genius  and  glory,  and 
which  count  for  so  little  before  the  decrees  of  the 
Eternal !  The  Emperor  in  the  Elyse"e  is  not  less 
humiliated  than  the  King  in  the  Temple,  and  he  is 
more  to  be  pitied ;  for,  in  his  misfortune  lie  does  not 
look  toward  the  Crucifix ! 

After  taking  a  few  moments  of  repose,  Napoleon 
held  a  council  on  that  very  morning  of  June  21.  "If 
the  nation  rises,"  said  he,  "  the  enemy  will  be  de- 
stroyed. If,  instead  of  such  a  rising  and  a  resort  to 
extraordinary  measures,  we  begin  disputing,  all  is 
lost.  The  enemy  is  in  France ;  in  order  to  save  the 
country  I  need  great  powers  —  a  temporary  dictator- 
ship. I  could  seize  it  in  the  interest  of  the  country, 
but  it  will  be  more  useful  and  more  national  to  have 
it  given  me  by  the  Chambers."  Alas!  the  Emperor 
will  not  be  treated  by  the  Chambers  as  the  Consul 
Varro  was  by  the  Roman  Senate.  Carnot  alone  sup- 
ported the  idea  of  a  dictatorship.  The  former  C071- 
ventionist  bethought  himself  of  the  fourteen  armies 


NAPOLEON  II.  177 


of  the  French  Republic.  But  he  obtained  no  follow- 
ers. The  flame  of  17U2  was  burnt  out,  Paris  had 
no  desire  to  imitate  Saragossa.  The  unfortunate 
Emperor  saw  the  traces  of  absolute  discouragement 
upon  the  faces  of  his  ministers.  Regnault  de  Saint- 
Jean  d'Angely,  one  of  his  most  faithful  adherents, 
suggested,  in  respectful  terms,  an  abdication  in  favor 
of  the  King  of  Rome.  But  listen  to  Lucien  Bona- 
parte, a  member  of  the  Council :  "  The  assembly  was 
very  disorderly.  An  abdication  in  favor  of  the  King 
of  Rome  was  proposed  as  delicately  as  possible. — 
'The  Bourbons  would  be  preferable  to  my  son,'  said 
Napoleon  ;  '  the}  are  French,  to  say  the  least.'  I  am 
not  one  of  those  who  find  this  reply  admirable,"  adds 
Lucien.  "  At  that  moment  nothing  was  more  French 
than  his  son." 

But,  no  matter  what  Lucien  may  say,  Napoleon 
was  not  deceived.  He  knew  that  his  son  was  the 
prisoner  of  the  Coalition,  and  that  the  Coalition  would 
not  loose  its  prey.  As  to  Marie  Louise,  lie  Avas  only 
too  certain  that  he  had  nothing  to  expect  from  her. 
"They  tell  yon,"  he  exclaimed,  "that  the  King  of 
Rome,  under  the  regency  of  his  mother,  would  be 
admissible.  It  is  a  perfidious  fable,  invented  at 
Vienna  and  circulated  in  Paris  so  as  to  bring  about 
our  ruin.  I  know  what  is  going  on  at  Vienna,  and 
that  my  wife  and  son  would  not  be  accepted  at  any 
price.  They  want  the  Bourbons  and  nothing  but  the 
Bourbons,  and  it  is  entirely  natural.  When  I  am  got 
rid  of,  they  will  march  on  Paris,  re-enter  it,  and  pro- 


178  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

claim  the  Bourbons.  Do  you  want  them  ?  For  my 
part,  I  don't  know  that  they  are  not  preferable  to 
anything  else  I  see."  In  vain  the  Emperor  developed, 
in  glowing  terms,  the  resources  he  could  still  draw 
from  the  soil  of  France ;  in  vain  he  described  the 
prodigies  which  might  be  accomplished  by  union  and 
perseverance.  He  convinced  no  one.  They  would 
decide  on  nothing.     They  would  await  events. 

What  was  going  on  at  the  same  time  in  the  Cham- 
ber of  Deputies?  After  a  silence  which  had  lasted 
twenty-three  years,  Lafa}Tette,  the  friend  of  Wash- 
ington, the  leader  of  1789,  the  prisoner  of  Olmutz, 
ascended  the  tribune.  "  When  for  the  first  time, 
after  so  many  years,"  said  he,  "  I  lift  a  voice  which 
the  old  friends  of  liberty  will  recognize  again,  I  feel 
myself  called  to  speak  to  you  of  the  dangers  of  the 
country,  which  you  alone  have  now  the  power  to 
save.  Sinister  rumors  have  been  circulated ;  unfortu- 
nately, they  are  confirmed.  Now  is  the  moment  for 
us  to  rally  around  the  old  tricolored  standard  —  that 
of  '89,  of  liberty,  equality,  and  public  order.  It  is 
that  alone  which  we  have  to  defend  against  foreign 
pretensions  and  internal  attempts.  Permit,  gentle- 
man, a  veteran  of  this  sacred  cause,  who  was  always 
a  stranger  to  party  -spirit,  to  submit  to  you  some  pre- 
liminary resolutions  whose  necessity  I  hope  you  will 
approve." 

Then  he  demanded  that  the  Chamber  should  de- 
clan;  itself  permanently  constituted,  and  consider  any 
attempt  to  dissolve  it  a  crime  of  higli  treason  ;  also, 


NAPOLEON   II.  179 


that  the  Ministers  of  War,  the  Interior,  and  Police 
should  be  requested  to  report  at  once  to  the  As- 
sembly. 

"  The  anachronism  of  this  discourse,"  Chateau- 
briand has  said,  "caused  a  momentary  illusion.  It 
seemed  as  though  the  Revolution,  personified  in  La- 
fayette, had  issued  from  the  tomb  and  presented 
itself,  pallid  and  wrinkled,  on  the  platform."  And 
yet  this  revolutionary  motion,  essentially  unconstitu- 
tional because  it  deprived  the  sovereign  of  one  of  the 
chief  prerogatives  of  the  crown,  the  right  of  disso- 
lution, was  accepted  without  a  contest  by  the  Cham- 
ber, already  faithless  to  the  oaths  taken  but  a  few 
days  before. 

What  will  the  Emperor  do  when  he  learns  of 
this  resolution  which  is  equivalent  to  a  deposition? 
Napoleon  wavers;  his  soul  is  troubled  with  uncer- 
tainties, fluctuations,  contradictions.  Now  he  is 
elated,  now  east  down  ;  to  anger,  recriminations, 
invectives,  and  menaces,  succeeds  silence;  to  the 
over-excitement  of  a  man  who,  remembering  his  glory, 
perhaps  believes  himself  still  capable  of  miracles,  the 
anguish  of  a  condemned  wretch  who  feels  the  earth 
failing  beneath  his  feet  and  sees  the  abyss  open.  He 
knows  that  if  he  gives  orders  they  will  not  be  obeyed. 
His  voice,  which  once  made  the  universe  tremble, 
now  intimidates  no  one.  The  giant  of  battles  has 
become  as  inoffensive  as  a  child.  lie  has  less  in- 
fluence than  Fouche,  the  Conventionist,  the  regicide. 
He  counts  for  nothing  any  more.  He  can  hardly 
believe  his  eyes  and  ears. 


180  ELBA,   AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

At  Elba  he  was  still  adored.  At  the  Elysee  he  is 
but  a  phantom.  He  reminds  one  of  Bossuet's  ser- 
mon against  ambition,  a  sermon  which  is  like  a 
prophecy :  "  Behold  a  man  so  fortunate  that  a  cen- 
tury sees  not  many  like  him ;  and  then  behold  his  ruin 
and  his  fall.  Because  he  has  risen  up  so  arrogantly, 
and  lifted  his  head  even  to  the  clouds,  and  because 
his  heart  is  inflated  with  pride,  for  that  reason,  saith 
the  Lord,  I  will  cut  him  down  by  the  roots  ;  I  will 
prostrate  him  with  a  great  blow  and  level  him  to 
earth ;  he  shall  become  a  disgrace  and  be  no  longer 
able  to  sustain  himself ;  he  shall  fall  with  a  mighty 
overthrow.  All  those  who  reposed  beneath  his  shadow 
shall  leave  him  in  fear  of  being  crushed  beneath  his 
ruins.  And  yet  they  shall  see  him  lying  at  full 
length  upon  the  mountain,  a  useless  burden  to  the 
earth.'"  Fatal  hour  for  the  conqueror !  It  is  him- 
self who  no  longer  believes  in  the  first  Napoleon  — 
who  does  not  even  believe  in  the  second  Napoleon. 
It  is  for  form's  sake  only  that  he  consents  to  defend 
his  son's  cause.  He  knows  that  it  is  as  irrevocably 
lost  as  his  own.  lie  smiles  bitterly  at  the  last  illu- 
sions concerning  the  dynasty,  still  entertained  by  two 
or  three  faithful  adherents,  who  are  trying  to  cling 
to  the  floating  wreckage  of  a  sunken  ship.  Death 
would  be  a  refuge  for  him  ;  but  ho  had  already  tried 
to  kill  himself  at  Fontainebleau,  in  1814,  and  with- 
out succeeding.  A  second  attempt  at  suicide  would 
be  only  a  clumsy  imitation.  He  must  live  to  suffer, 
live  to  expiate.     His  destiny  weighs  on  him  like  a 


NAPOLEON   II.  181 


cloak  of  lead.  This  man,  once  so  full  of  his  all-power- 
ful personality,  would  like  to  flee  from  himself,  to 
lose,  if  possible,  the  consciousness  of  his  identity. 
He  is  about  to  let  himself  drift,  like  a  drowning  man 
who,  after  having  swum  with  all  his  might,  and 
reached  the  limit  of  his  strength,  contends  no  longer 
with  the  waves,  but  abandons  himself  to  them.  The 
athlete,  once  indefatigable,  feels  himself  at  last  van- 
quished by  that  supreme  power  which  atheists  call 
the  force  of  things,  and  which  the  faithful  call  Provi- 
dence. 

His  brother  Lucien  vainly  counselled  him  to  resist 
the  insolent  resolution  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies. 
The  following  dialogue  took  place  between  them:  — 

Lucien.  "Where  is  your  firmness  ?  Overcome  this 
irresolution.  You  know  what  it  will  cost  you  not  to 
dare.1' 

Napoleon.     "I  have  dared  only  too  much." 

"  Too  much  or  too  little.     Dare  for  the  last  time." 

"  An  Eighteenth  Brumaire?" 

"Not  at  all.  A  thoroughly  constitutional  decree. 
The  Constitution  gives  you  that  right." 

"The}'  will  not  respect  the  Constitution,  and  they 
will  oppose  the  decree." 

"  Better  still ;  in  that  case  they  are  rebels,  and  you 
dissolve  them." 

"  The  National  Guard  will  come  to  their  aid." 

'•The  National  Guard  lias  only  a  resisting  force  ; 
when  it  comes  to  action,  the  shopkeepers  will  think 
of  their  wives  and  their  shops." 


182  ELBA,    AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

"  An  Eighteenth  Brumaire  which  should  not  suc- 
ceed might  lead  to  a  Thirteenth  Vendemiare." 

"You  are  deliberating  when  you  ought  to  act. 
They  act  and  don't  deliberate." 

"  What  can  they  do?     They  are  talkers." 
"  Opinion  is  on  their  side.     They  will  pronounce 
your  deposition." 

"  My  deposition  ?  Would  they  dare  ?  " 
"  They  will  dare  everything  if  you  dare  nothing." 
While  the  two  brothers  were  talking  thus,  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Elysee  was  filling  up  with  an 
immense  crowd  of  patriots,  unwilling  to  despair,  and 
who,  perceiving  the  Emperor,  greeted  him  with  fren- 
zied acclamations.  The  Avenue  Marigny  was  thronged 
with  common  people  and  former  soldiers,  in  whom 
the  national  chord  was  vibrating.  They  implored 
Napoleon  to  lead  them  against  the  enemy.  They 
received  him  with  as  much  enthusiasm  as  in  the  days 
of  his  greatest  triumphs.  And  he,  greatly  moved, 
could  not  refrain  from  saying:  "What  do  these  peo- 
ple owe  me?  I  found  them  poor  and  have  left  them 
so." 

Away  with  you,  ungrateful  courtiers  !  Away,  men 
of  the  old  regime  whom  Napoleon  has  endowed,  en- 
riched, overwhelmed  with  favors!  Away,  chamber- 
lains who  grimace  and  call  your  former  master, 
Buonaparte !  It  is  in  the  cabins  of  the  people  that 
patriotism  and  honor  will  take  refuge. 

The  common  people  who  have  suffered  so  much 
from  Napoleon  and  for  him  ;    the  poor  women  who 


NAPOLEON  II.  183 


have  given  him  the  lives  of  their  sons ;  the  veterans 
whose  bodies  are  covered  with  wounds  on  his  account ; 
the  poor  peasants  who  have  been  ruined  by  the  in- 
vasion; yes,  all  those  who  have  suffered,  all  who 
have  wept,  not  only  pardon  their  Emperor,  but  still 
console  and  glorify  him  in  his  misfortunes.  The 
nobles,  on  the  other  hand,  with  a  few  honorable  ex- 
ceptions, deny  him  even  before  the  cock  has  crowed ! 

The  shouts  redoubled.  "  Well !  "  cried  Lucien. 
"Do  you  hear  these  people?  It  is  the  same  thing 
all  over  France.  .  .  .  Will  you  abandon  them  to  fac- 
tions?" Xapoleon,  pausing,  replied  by  a  gesture  of 
the  hand  to  the  enthusiasm  of  the  crowd.  "  Am  I 
more  than  man,"  said  he,  "that  I  should  be  able  to 
bring  back  a  thousand  misguided  deputies  to  the 
unity  which  alone  can  save  us?  Or  am  I  a  miserable 
partisan  chief,  willing  to  kindle  unavailing  civil  war? 
No;  never.  In  Brumaire  it  was  our  duty  to  draw 
the  sword  for  the  welfare  of  France  ;  to-day  we  should 
throw  the  sword  away.  Go  and  try  to  pacify  the 
Chambers;  I  can  do  everything  with  them;  I  could 
do  a  great  deal  without  them  in  my  own  behalf,  but  T 
could  not  save  the  country.  Go;  but  I  forbid  you, 
above  all,  in  going  out,  to  harangue  these  people  who 
are  asking  me  to  arm  them.  I  will  attempt  every- 
thing for  France,  but  nothing  for  myself." 

Lucien.  in  company  with  the  Ministers,  started  for 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  passing  in  silence  through 
the  tumultuous  sea  of  people.  At  the  Palais  Bourbon 
he  ascended  the  tribune.    "Do  not  let  us  enter  the  trap 


184  ELBA,   AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

which  the  foreigners  have  spread  for  our  credulity," 
he  cried.  "  Their  aim  is  to  disunite  us  so  as  to  con- 
quer." He  added  that  the  French  nation  had  always 
been  accused  of  lacking  perseverance,  and  that  the 
moment  had  now  arrived  either  to  refute  or  to  justify 
this  reproach ;  if  they  did  not  imitate  the  conduct  of 
Spain,  Russia,  and  Germany  toward  their  sovereigns, 
history  would  rank  them  inferior  to  the  Spaniards, 
the  Germans,  and  the  Russians. 

Lafayette,  rising  in  his  seat,  replied :  "  The  accu- 
sation just  made  is  calumnious.  By  what  right  does 
the  last  speaker  dare  to  accuse  the  nation  of  levity, 
and  of  lacking  in  perseverance  toward  the  Emperor 
Napoleon?  It  has  followed  him  through  the  sands 
of  Egypt  and  the  deserts  of  Russia ;  through  lifty 
battle-fields ;  in  successes  and  in  reverses,  and  it  is 
for  having  followed  him  that  we  have  to  regret  the 
blood  of  three  millions  of  Frenchmen." 

Manuel  insisted  on  the  necessity  of  distinguishing 
the  cause  of  the  country  from  that  of  a  man.  Another 
deputy,  M.  Jay,  demanded  an  abdication.  The  Cham- 
ber nominated  a  committee  to  devise  measures  for 
the  public  safety;  in  reality,  to  assume  executive 
powers.  It  Avras  composed  of  five  members :  Lanjni- 
nais,  General  Grenier,  Lafayette,  Flaugergues,  and 
Dupont  de  l'Eure,  to  whom  five  others,  chosen  by 
the  Chamber  of  Peers,  were  to  bo  added.  The 
latter  assembly  selected  three  generals,  —  Andre*ossy, 
Drouot,  and  Dejean  ;  and  two  former  Conventionists, 
• —  Boissy-d' Anglas  and  Thibaudeau. 


NAPOLEON  II.  185 


Lucien  and  the  Ministers  were  no  better  received 
by  the  Chamber  of  Peers  than  they  had  been  by  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies.  Everybody  felt  that  an  abdi- 
cation, or,  failing  that,  a  deposition,  was  imminent. 
And  yet  it  was  but  a  few  days  since  the  Chamber  of 
Peers  had  said  in  its  address  to  Napoleon  :  "The  in- 
terests of  France  are  inseparable  from  yours.  If  suc- 
cess does  not  attend  your  efforts,  reverses,  Sire,  will 
not  lessen  our  constancy,  and  will  redouble  our  at- 
tachment to  you.'"  And  at  the  same  time  the  Cham- 
ber of  Deputies  had  said:  "Resuming  to-day  the 
exercise  of  her  rights,  and  rallying  around  the  hero 
to  whom  she  confides  anew  the  government  of  the 
State,  France  cannot  admit  the  distinctions  by  which 
the  Allied  Powers  seek  to  veil  their  aggression.  To 
attack  the  monarchy  of  its  choice  is  to  attack  the 
independence  of  the  nation."  What  did  all  these 
promises,  all  these  fine  speeches,  amount  to?  They 
were  empty  phrases  and  nothing  more. 

Returning  to  the  Flysee,  Lucien  bluntly  told  his 
brother  that  no  alternative  was  possible  except  a  coup 
d'ehit  or  an  abdication.  Napoleon  hesitated.  Silent 
and  motionless,  lie  was  awaiting  the  decree  of  fate  in 
a  sort  of  torpor.  During  the  night  the  Committee  of 
Ten  appointed  by  the  two  Chambers  assembled.  They 
decided  to  send  to  the  camp  of  the  Coalition  a  com- 
mittee of  negotiators,  who  should  present  themselves, 
not  in  the  nana;  of  the  Emperor,  but  in  that  of  the 
Chambers.  It  amounted,  in  fact,  to  a  deposition  ;  it 
was  the  thing  if  not  tin;  word.  Napoleon  no  longer 
either  reigned  or  governed. 


186  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS, 

The  next  morning,  Thursday,  June  22, 1815,  every- 
body waked  with  the  instinctive  conviction  that  the 
end  was  near.  The  agony  was  almost  over ;  the  death 
bell  was  about  to  toll.  And  still  Napoleon  had  a 
faint  glimmer  of  hope.  He  had  learned  that  the 
troops  under  Marshal  Grouchy,  —  thirty  thousand 
men,  —  who  were  believed  to  have  perished,  were  safe, 
and  that  the  survivors  of  Waterloo  were  gathering  at 
Laon.  For  a  moment  the  man  of  battles  thought  of 
drawing  his  sword  from  its  scabbard.  It  was  too 
late.  The  Empire  was  to  have  its  Tenth  of  August 
—  and  a  Tenth  of  August  when  even  its  defenders 
would  not  fight. 

The  Chamber  of  Deputies  had  been  in  session 
since  morning.  Wavering  and  impatient,  they  com- 
plained because  the  unhappy  Emperor  had  not  yet 
signed  his  abdication.  They  were  afraid  of  an  Eigh- 
teenth Brumaire.  The  comparatively  favorable  news 
from  the  army  disturbed  instead  of  rejoicing  them. 
They  noisily  demanded  his  abdication;  they  must 
absolutely  have  it  at  once,  without  any  reservation  or 
condition  whatsoever.  Lafayette  instructed  Regnault 
de  Saint-Jean-d'Angely  to  go  and  tell  Napoleon  that 
lie  would  be  given  an  hour  in  which  to  abdicate,  and 
that  if  he  had  not  done  so  by  that  time,  he  would  be 
deposed.  The  session  was  suspended.  Even  Lucien 
no  longer  counselled  his  brother  to  resist.  It  was  fin- 
ished.     Consummatum  est. 

For  a  moment  the  man  who  was  about  to  cease  to 
be  Emperor  revolted  against  the  insolent  impatience 


NAPOLEON   II.  187 


of  the  Chamber.  "  They  want  me  to  abdicate,"  he 
exclaimed  bitterly.  "  To-morrow  there  will  be  no 
army.  If  they  had  rejected  me  when  I  landed  at 
Cannes,  I  could  have  understood  it.  To  have  thrown 
me  aside  fifteen  days  ago  might  have  been  courage, 
but  to-day  it  is  cowardice."  For  an  instant  the  blood 
rose  to  his  face.  '"No,"  said  he,  k,I  will  not  abdicate. 
The  Chamber  is  composed  of  Jacobins,  hot-headed 
pretenders  who  want  places  and  hope  to  profit  by  dis- 
order. I  ought  to  denounce  them  to  the  country  and 
turn  them  out  neck  and  heels.  The  time  lost  may 
be  repaired."  But  this  brief  instant  of  anger  and  ex- 
altation gave  place  to  utter  dejection.  Napoleon 
quieted  down.  The  urgency  of  his  advisers  re- 
doubled: "It  was  never  my  intention  to  refuse  to 
abdicate,"  he  said  with  a  calm  sadness.  "I  have  been 
a  soldier,  and  I  will  again  become  one.  But  I  want 
to  be  let  alone  to  think  it  over  quietly  in  the  interest 
of  I*" ranee  and  of  my  son.  Tell  these  gentlemen  to 
wait."  Alas!  this  was  the  final  throe  of  his  agony. 
The  Chambers  would  not  grant  even  another  moment 
to  their  sovereign.  What  torture!  To  abdicate  like 
this;  in  abdicate,  not  before  a  formidable  Assembly 
like  the  Convention,  able  to  gather  fourteen  armies, 
and  make  all  the  sovereigns  tremble,  but  before  a 
mean  and  miserable  Assembly,  a  moribund  Assembly 
which  has  itself  but  a  few  remaining  hours  of  life! 
And  yet  it  must  be  done.  Overpowered  by  destiny, 
Napoleon  bowed  his  head,  and  at  the  moment  when 
he  took  the  pen  with  which  he  was  to  sign  the  fatal 


188  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 


act,  he  felt  so  discouraged  that  he  did  not  even  think 
of  mentioning  his  son's  name. 

Listen  to  Lucien's  revelations  concerning  this :  "  It 
was  so  little  a  question  of  his  personal  interest,  and 
that  of  his  family,  that  at  first  he  dictated  his  abdica- 
tion without  speaking  of  his  son ;  and  when  Carnot 
and  I  reminded  him  that,  at  least,  lie  ought  not  to 
abdicate  except  in  favor  of  Napoleon  II.,  in  order  to 
eliminate  the  Bourbons,  he  replied,  '  The  Bourbons  ! 
What  of  it?  At  least  they  would  not  be  under  the 
Austrian  ferule.'  Such  a  sentiment  from  such  a  man 
needs  no  commentary ;  he  smiled  at  the  importance 
we  attached  to  his  appointing  his  son.  '  The  enemies 
are  there,'  said  he,  '  and  the  Bourbons  with  them. 
We  must  either  repulse  the  first  or  submit  to  the 
second.  United,  we  might  still  be  able  to  save  our- 
selves ;  divided,  there  is  no  resource  except  the  Bour- 
bons. As  to  me,  my  fate  concerns  nobody ;  I  know 
adversity.'  Nevertheless,  we  induced  him  to  abdi- 
cate in  his  son's  favor,  but  he  did  it  without  sharing 
our  illusions,  and  as  a  thing  of  very  slight  impor- 
tance." 

The  abdication  so  much  desired  by  the  Assembly, 
and  which  was  to  be  its  own  abdication  as  well  as 
that  of  Napoleon,  was  signed  between  midday  and 
one  o'clock.  It  is  in  these  words:  " Frenchmen,  in 
beginning  a  war  to  uphold  our  national  independ- 
ence, I  counted  on  the  union  of  all  efforts  and  all 
wills,  and  on  the  support  of  all  the  national  authori- 
ties.    I  was  justified  in  hoping  for   success,  and  I 


NAPOLEON  II.  189 


braved  all  the  declarations  of  the  Powers  against  me. 
The  circumstances  appear  to  me  to  have  changed.  I 
offer  myself  in  sacrifice  to  the  hatred  of  the  enemies 
of  France.  May  it  be  that  their  declarations  are  sin- 
cere, and  that  they  bear  ill  will  to  me  only  !  My 
political  life  is  ended,  and  I  proclaim  my  son,  under 
the  title  of  Napoleon  II.,  Emperor  of  the  French. 
The  Ministers  will  form  provisionally  the  Council  of 
the  Government.  The  interest  I  take  in  my  son 
obliges  me  to  request  the  Chambers  to  pass  at  once  a 
law  organizing  the  Regency.  Let  all  unite  for  the 
public  safety  and  in  order  to  remain  an  independent 
nation.     June  22.     [Signed]  Napoleon." 

It  was  nearly  one  o'clock  when  the  abdication  was 
carried  by  Carnot  to  the  Chamber  of  Peers,  and  by 
Fouche"  to  the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  In  this  latter 
Assembly,  the  reading  of  this  act,  so  impatiently 
desired,  moved  even  the  Emperor's  enemies.  The 
Chamber  decided  that  "a  deputation,  composed  of  its 
president  and  other  officers,  should  wait  on  Napoleon 
Bonaparte,  and  express  to  him  the  gratitude  and 
respect  with  which  they  accept  the  noble  sacrifice  he 
lias  made  to  the  independence  and  happiness  of  the 
French  people."  It  is  easy  to  understand  what  the 
Emperor  must  have  suffered  in  receiving  this  deputa- 
tion, whose  action  resembled  irony  more  than  defer- 
ence. In  his  Memoirs.  Lafayette,  while  rendering 
homage  to  the  dignified  attitude  of  Napoleon,  insists 
on  the  so-called  majesty  of  this  deputation  of  which 
he  was  a  member :  "  It  was  an  imposing  spectacle," 


190  ELBA,   AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

he  says,  "  this  arrival  of  nine  representatives  of  the 
people,  strong  in  the  respect  due  to  a  National 
Assembly,  and  coming  to  announce  to  him,  who, 
after  having  mastered  all  the  sovereigns  of  the  con- 
tinent, still  commanded  the  French  army,  his  Guard, 
and  a  great  party  in  the  faubourgs,  that  he  was  no 
longer  Emperor,  and  that  the  nation  resumed  the 
government." 

A  legitimist  historian  has  laid  stress  upon  the  pue- 
rility of  this  unseasonable  outburst  of  parliamentary 
pride :  "  Human  vanity,  even  in  noble  hearts,"  says 
M.  Alfred  Nettement,  "is  subject  to  strange  illusions. 
Otherwise,  General  Lafayette  would  have  compre- 
hended that  these  nine  representatives  of  an  Assem- 
bly full  of  the  remnants  of  '93,  elected  by  several 
millions  of  voters  formerly  picked  out  by  Napoleon, 
and  this  time  inspired  by  Fouche  whose  influence 
had  been  supreme  in  the  half-deserted  electoral  col- 
leges, represented  nothing  but  that  Assembly,  its 
petty  passions,  pretensions,  and  vanities,  and  cut  a 
very  poor  figure  before  this  Emperor  who  had  aban- 
doned himself  after  having  been  abandoned  by  for- 
tune. ...  It  is  difficulty,  it  is  clanger,  which  make 
an  action  grand,  and  in  the  action  just  performed  by 
the  Chamber  there  was  neither  difficulty  nor  danger." 

Napoleon  received  the  deputation  from  the  Assem- 
bly with  calm  and  dignified  indifference.  "I  thank 
y<m,"  said  he;  "I  desire  that  my  abdication  may 
assure  the  welfare  of  France,  but  I  do  not  hope  it." 
He  terminated  thus  his  brief  allocution:   "There  is 


NAPOLEOy   II.  191 


no  question  of  me,  but  only  of  my  son  and  France. 
Believe  me,  be  united."  Then  he  bowed  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  deputation,  who  retired  in  profound  emo- 
tion. Shortly  after  their  departure  he  learned  that 
the  Chamber  of  Representatives,  instead  of  proclaim- 
ing Napoleon  IT.  and  instituting  the  Regency,  had 
appointed  an  executive  committee  without  saying  a 
word  about  the  Empire  and  imperial  institutions. 
Then  he  exclaimed :  "  I  did  not  abdicate  in  favor  of 
a  new  Directory ;  I  abdicated  in  favor  of  my  son ;  if 
they  do  not  proclaim  him,  my  abdication  is  null  and 
void.  It  is  not  by  crawling  on  the  "•round  before  the 
Allies  that  the  Chambers  can  force  them  to  recognize 
the  national  independence.'' 

Meantime,  scenes  really  tragical  were  passing  in  the 
Chamber  of  Peers.  The  man  who  uttered  the  most 
gloomy,  most  despairing  words  was  the  incomparable 
hero  of  the  retreat  from  Russia,  Marshal  Ney,  who, 
only  four  days  before,  had  fought  like  a  lion  at  Water- 
loo. Carnot  had  just  read  from  the  tribune  a  report 
exaggerating  the  military  resources  yet  remaining  to 
France.  Ney  arose.  "The  report  is  false,''  he  cried; 
''false  in  every  way.  Grouchy  cannot  at  most  have 
more  than  twenty-live  thousand  men  under  his  com- 
mand. There  is  no  longer  a  soldier  of  the  Guard 
to  rally:  I  commanded  them;  I  saw  them  all  mas- 
sacred before  I  left  the  field  of  battle.  The  enemy 
is  at  Nivelle  with  eighty  thousand  men;  they  can 
reach  Paris  in  six  days:  there  is  no  way  to  save  the 
country  except  by  opening  negotiations.      I  owe   the 


192  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DATS. 

truth  to  my  country.  I  am  not  one  of  those  who  con- 
sult their  private  interest  alone.  What  can  I  gain 
by  the  return  of  Louis  XVJII.  ?  To  be  shot."  Alas  ! 
this  hero  of  heroes  knew  not  how  truly  he  spoke. 

Lucien  ascended  the  tribune.  Treating  a  popular 
monarchy  just  as  if  it  were  a  monarchy  by  divine 
right,  he  recalled  the  ancient  formula,  "  The  King 
is  dead.  Live  the  King ! "  "  The  Emperor  abdi- 
cates. Live  the  Emperor  !  "  he  cried.  But  his  voice 
found  little  or  no  echo.  He  took  his  oath  to  Napo- 
leon II.  No  one  imitated  his  example.  Later,  he 
avowed  himself  that  the  imperial  cause  was  lost. 
"At  the  time,"  he  writes,  "the  abdication  seemed 
disastrous  to  me,  and  I  used  all  my  feeble  efforts  to 
avert  it;  I  thought  and  said  then  what  many  French- 
men still  think  and  say ;  to  me,  at  least,  it  appeared 
an  act  of  weakness.  But  now,  being  calmer,  and 
having  long  and  thoroughly  studied  the  man  and 
the  act,  I  have  greatly  changed  my  opinion.  .  .  . 
That  which  was  honorable,  chivalrous,  royal,  for 
Louis  XVI II.,  would  have  been  cruel,  infamous, 
sacrilegious  for  Napoleon ;  he  was  bound  to  abdicate 
the  throne  by  the  very  sentiment  which  made  him 
accept  it.  He  would  have  been  culpable  if,  for  the 
sake  of  defending  his  throne  or  that  of  his  son,  he 
had  braved  civil  war;  and  since,  rightly  or  wrongly, 
he  did  not  think  himself  able  to  save  France  without 
the  Chambers,  it  was  his  duty  to  yield  to  the  Cham- 
bers which,  by  a  word,  lie  could  have  overthrown." 

General     Labddoyere,    however,   seeing    that    the 


NAPOLEON   II.  193 

rights  of  Napoleon  II.  were  not  recognized,  cried 
out  in  violent  anger :  "  I  heard  voices  salute  the 
successful  sovereign ;  but  now  when  he  is  in  trouble 
they  are  far  away.  There  are  some  who  are  unwill- 
ing to  recognize  Napoleon  II.  because  they  want  to 
submit  to  the  rule  of  foreigners  to  whom  they  give 
the  name  of  Allies.  Napoleon's  abdication  is  indivis- 
ible. If  his  son  is  not  recognized,  he  should  grasp 
the  sword,  surrounded  by  Frenchmen  who  have  shed 
their  blood  for  him  and  who  are  still  covered  with 
wounds.  lie  will  be  abandoned  by  certain  vile  gen- 
erals who  have  already  betrayed  him.  But  if  it  is 
proclaimed  that  every  Frenchman  who  deserts  his 
flag  shall  be  covered  with  infamy,  his  house  torn 
down,  and  his  family  proscribed,  there  will  be  no 
more  traitors,  no  more  of  the  manoeuvres  which 
caused  the  last  catastrophe,  and  some  of  whose  au- 
thors are  probably  sitting  here."  At  these  inflamed 
words  the  Peers  grew  pale  with  rage.  "Order! 
order!"  was  shouted  on  all  sides.  "Young  man, 
you  forget  yourself,"  said  Marshal  Massena.  "  You 
think  you  are  still  in  the  guard-house,"  said  Lameth. 
In  all  this  there  is,  as  Chateaubriand  lias  remarked, 
a  nameless  something  which  recalls  those  terrible 
revolutionary  scenes  during  the  great  days  of  our 
adversities,  when  the  poniard  went  round  the  tri- 
bunal in  the  hands  of  the  victims.  lie  writes: 
"  Some  warriors  whose  fatal  fascination  has  brought 
on  the  ruin  of  France  by  determining  the  second  for- 
eign invasion,  were  disputing  together  on  the  thresh- 


194  ELBA,   AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

old  of  the  palace.  Their  prophetic  despair,  their 
gestures,  their  words  from  beyond  the  tomb,  seemed 
to  announce  a  triple  death,  —  death  to  themselves, 
death  to  the  man  whom  they  had  blessed,  death  to 
the  race  they  had  proscribed." 

Nothing  will  discourage  the  legionaries  of  the 
vanquished,  dethroned,  and  imprisoned  Ctesar.  The 
white  flag  will  reappear,  but  the  common  soldiers 
will  hide  their  bitterness  and  their  hopes  beneath 
their  thatched  roofs,  and  proud  of  their  glorious 
wounds,  will  recite  to  listening  peasants  the  exploits 
of  the  tricolor.  In  the  evenings  they  will  sing  the 
refrain  of  the  popular  song,  "  The  Old  Flag  " :  — 

"  Here  'tis  hidden  'neath  the  straw, 

Flag  that  flew  from  field  to  field, 

Sure  to  conquer,  not  to  yield. 
Twenty  years  all  Europe  saw 
How  it  floated  gloriously, 

Crowned  witJi  laurels  and  with  flowers. 

When  will  come  the  happy  hours 
When  from  dust  I  shake  it  free? 

"  For  a  moment  cast  off  fears  — 

Here,  beside  my  arms  it  lies; 

Come,  my  flag,  my  hope,  my  prize! 
'Tis  for  thee  to  dry  my  tears. 
When  the  warrior's  tears  they  see, 

They  will  list,  the  heavenly  Fow'rs: 

Yes,  they'll  come,  the  happy  hours, 
When  from  dust  I'll  shake  thee  free!" 

The  22d  of  June  passed  without  Napoleon  II. 
having  been  proclaimed.     Instead  of  a  regency,  the 


NAPOLEON   II.  195 


Chambers  invested  a  committee  of  five  of  its  mem- 
bers with  sovereign  powers. 

The  Bonapartists,  however,  were  to  make  one  last 
effort  in  favor  of  Napoleon  II.  This  four-year-old 
child,  the  prisoner  of  Austria,  was  proclaimed  Em- 
peror of  the  French  on  Friday,  June  23,  1815.  But 
what  a  derisory  proclamation  !  It  was  not  the  Chamber 
of  Peers,  every  member  of  which  had  been  appointed 
by  Napoleon  and  overwhelmed  by  his  benefits,  but 
the  Chamber  of  Representatives  that  set  up  this 
empire  of  a  day,  this  purely  nominal  empire. 

"Have  we  not  a  constitutional  monarchy?"  ex- 
claimed Boulay  de  la  Meurthe.  "  The  Emperor  dead, 
the  Emperor  lives.  Napoleon  I.  has  sent  us  his  abdi- 
cation, and  we  have  accepted  it.  By  that  fact  alone, 
by  the  force  of  things,  by  an  inevitable  consequence, 
Napoleon  II.  is  Emperor  of  the  French.  You  cannot 
even  deliberate  about  the  matter.  Our  fundamental 
law  decides  the  question.  .  .  .  The  Emperor's  abdi- 
cation is  indivisible.  .  .  .  We  are  surrounded  by 
intriguers  and  factious  partisans  who  would  like  to 
have  the  throne  declared  vacant.  ...  I  will  go 
further  still ;  I  will  put  my  finger  on  the  plague  spot. 
There  is  an  Orleans  faction.  It  is  useless  to  inter- 
rupt me.  My  information  is  explicit.  I  know  that  this 
faction  is  altogether  Royalist.  I  know  that  its  secret 
aim  is  to  keep  informed  with  regard  to  the  patriots. 
However,  it  is  not  certain  that  the  Duke  of  Orleans 
would  accept  the  crown  ;  but,  if  he  did,  it  would 
doubtless  be  in  order  to  relinquish  it  to  Louis  XVIII." 


196  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

The  Assembly  was  wavering  and  undecided.  Be- 
ing neither  Republican,  Royalist,  nor  Imperialist,  it 
vaguely  felt  the  falsity  of  its  position.  Manuel  extri- 
cated it  from  this  embarrassment  by  a  speech  which 
showed  rare  address.  He  proclaimed  Napoleon  II.,  but 
in  a  way  which  left  a  door  of  escape  open  to  all  parties. 
His  harangue  would  not  have  been  so  cordially 
applauded  had  it  been  a  real  declaration  of  principles 
instead  of  a  mere  expedient.  He  began  by  saying 
that,  "  in  proposing  to  proclaim  Napoleon  II.  an  inop- 
portune and  imprudent  question  was  raised ;  but, 
since  it  has  been  brought  up,  to  evade  it  would  be 
impossible.  The  constitutional  right  being  incontes- 
table it  must  be  affirmed."  Rut  how?  Will  the  name 
of  Marie  Louise  be  pronounced  ?  Will  they  establish  a 
regency  ?  By  no  means.  The  order  of  the  day  which 
Manuel  succeeded  in  getting  passed,  alleges :  First, 
that  "  Napoleon  II.  became  Emperor  by  the  fact  of 
the  abdication  of  Napoleon  I.,  and  in  virtue  of  the 
Constitutions  of  the  Empire  "  ;  second,  that  "  the  two 
Chambers,  in  naming  a  governmental  committee, 
willed  and  intended  to  assure  the  nation  of  the  needed 
guaranties  for  its  liberty  and  repose  in  the  present 
extraordinary  circumstances."  The  nominal  sover- 
eign was  to  be  Napoleon  II.,  but  the  real  sovereign 
would  be  Eouchd,  the  President  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mission. But  the  Assembly  appeared  to  take  its  vote 
as  serious,  and,  as  if  wishing  to  put  itself  on  good 
terms  with  its  conscience,  broke  up  with  hypocritical 
cries  of  "  Long  live  the  Emperor  !  " 


NAPOLEON  11.  197 


The  reign  of  Napoleon  II.  was  to  be  only  a  phan- 
tom, a  vanishing  dream.  His  Empire  was  no  more 
real  than  his  Kingdom  of  Rome.  His  two  sceptres 
were  broken  like  rattles,  one  after  another.  But  will 
not  his  mother,  at  least,  speak  for  him  ?  It  does  not 
even  occur  to  her  to  do  so.  The  forgetful  and  un- 
faithful wife  would  not  consent  to  leave  her  gilded 
prison,  even  though  her  jailers  should  open  the  doors. 
She  does  not  wish  her  child  to  be  anything  but  an 
Austrian  prince.  Nothing  will  remain  of  this  title 
of  Napoleon  II.  but  the  vote  of  an  inconsistent  As- 
sembly and  the  immortal  ode  of  a  poet. 

On  that  very  evening  of  June  23,  Fouche  said  to 
his  intimates:  '"Everything  is  all  right;  we  have 
confronted  the  old  regime  with  the  Constitutions  of 
the  Empire.  I  hope  to  see  both  pleaders  back  to  back 
before  long.''  And  the  next  day  lie  had  the  nominal 
accession  of  Napoleon  II.  placed  on  the  minutes,  but 
in  his  proclamation  of  the  Provisional  Government, 
he  announced  that  all  public  acts  would  be  performed 
solely  in  the  name  of  the  French  people.  He  who 
had  been  Emperor  two  days  before  wanted  to  protest 
against  this  anomaly,  but  found  no  one  willing  to 
carry  his  protest  to  the  Chamber. 

The  news  of  the  abdication  reached  Laon,  where 
the  survivors  of  the  army  were  assembled,  on  June 
24,  and  caused  inexpressible  wrath  and  indignation. 
"Why  should  we  fight  any  longer,'"  said  the  sol- 
diers, "since  there  is  no  longer  an  Emperor?" 
These    indefatigable  heroes,  who  did  not  despair  of 


198  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

avenging  Waterloo,  declared  themselves  betrayed, 
and  yielded  to  a  very  delirium  of  sorrow.  At  Paris, 
the  old  soldiers,  the  federates,  the  patriots  who 
crowded  the  Avenue  Marigny,  were  animated  by  the 
same  sentiments.  Fouchd's  government  began  to  be 
afraid.  It  could  not  be  easy  while  Napoleon  was 
there ;  and  in  case  he  had  not  consented  to  go,  they 
would  probably  have  forced  him.  Marshal  Davoust 
was  sent  to  the  Elyse'e  to  urge  his  old  master  to 
depart.  Napoleon  did  not  resist;  he  left  Paris  the 
next  day. 

At  noon  on  Sunday,  June  25, 1815,  —  the  battle  of 
Waterloo  had  been  fought  just  a  week  before,  —  Na- 

s 

poleon  left  the  Elyse'e  Palace  in  a  simple  carriage 
and  went  to  Malmaison.  He  drove  through  the 
avenue  where,  as  if  byr  a  sarcasm  of  destiny,  rose  the 
colossal  foundations  of  what  was  to  be  the  Arc  de 
Triomphe  de  l'Etoile.  This  avenue,  once  for  him  the 
route  of  ovations  and  of  triumphs,  must  have  occa- 
sioned him  some  bitter  thoughts.  It  must  have 
recalled  the  radiant  morning  of  April  2,  1810,  that 
day  of  incomparable  splendor  when  he  made  his  sol- 
emn entry  into  Paris  with  the  young  Empress  Marie 
Louise.  Where  is  that  departed  magnificence?  The 
halt  before  the  gorgeous  decoration  which  simulated 
the  present  Arch  of  Triumph;  the  carriage  drawn  by- 
eight  horses,  its  gilded  roof  supported  by  four  eagles 
with  outspread  wings ;  the  Marshals  of  France  on 
horseback  at  the  sides  of  the  imperial  carriage ;  the 
applause  of  the  crowd;  the  ringing  of  bells;  the  salvos 


NAPOLEON  II.  199 


of  artillery,  the  beating  of  drums,  the  blare  of  the 
trumpets,  —  what  is  left  of  all  that  glorious  pomp  ? 
And  the  woman  whom  a  delirious  people  saluted 
with  joyous  homage  ;  the  woman  to  whom  young  girls 
dressed  in  white  offered  gifts  and  flowers  ;  the  woman 
whose  arrival  seemed  the  pledge  of  perpetual  pros- 
perity and  peace  ;  the  young  Empress  of  the  French, 
where  is  she  at  this  hour  when  her  husband  begins 
the  stations  of  his  Calvary?  She  is  in  the  midst 
of  the  enemies  of  France  ;  she  watches,  unmoved, 
the  outbursts  of  their  joy.  It  is  even  on  this  very 
day,  June  25,  1815,  that  at  Baden,  near  Schoen- 
brunn,  where  she  is  occupying  the  same  house  with 
her  step-mother,  Napoleon's  bitter  enemy,  she  learns 
the  tidings  of  Waterloo.  Under  the  windows  of  this 
house,  common  to  both  sovereigns,  bands  are  playing 
serenades  to  celebrate  the  victory  of  the  Coalition. 
What  a  Shakespearean  contrast !  On  the  same  day, 
Napoleon  deposed,  quitting  his  capital  never  to  re- 
turn ;  Napoleon  proscribed,  drinking  to  the  dregs  the 
cup  of  bitterness  as  General  and  as  Emperor,  as  hus- 
band and  as  father;  and  the  Austrian  musicians 
playing  triumphant  music  under  the  windows  of 
Marie  Louise  !  Have  the  trumpets  of  Fortinbras  at 
the  denouement  of  Hamlet  a  stranger  sound? 


XII. 


MALMAISON. 


THE  most  picturesque  of  historians,  —  he  who  has 
adopted  as  his  programme  that  magical  saying, 
"  History  is  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,"  —  Miche- 
let,  has  said  in  one  of  his  lectures :  "  Gentlemen,  the 
greatest  man  of  the  world  was  a  man.  Now,  he  had 
a  wife,  and  one  day  he  wanted  to  change  her  for  an- 
other. Great  anguish,  tears,  lamentations.  He  said, 
'  It  is  only  a  woman  ! '  You  were  not  living  during 
the  Empire,  gentlemen,  but  I  was.  I  was  a  child 
then.  I  tell  you,  it  was  a  time  when  nobody  talked. 
The  Emperor  had  done  everything,  you  know  ;  he 
had  changed  Europe  and  suppressed  nations,  and 
thrown  the  Republic  out  of  the  window.  Nobody 
said  a  word:  profound  silence.  One  morning  he 
wanted  to  send  away  his  wife;  all  the  world  talked. 
Discussions  began  in  every  family.  I  heard  this  dis- 
pute between  a  man  and  his  wife.  The  man  said: 
'She  has  given  him  no  children.  She  has  committed 
more  than  one  fault.  He  might  have  divorced  her 
when  he  came  back  from  Egypt.'  '  But  he  didn't,' 
said  the  woman.     '  Why  not  now,  then  ?     The  Em- 

200 


MALM  A I  SON.  20i 


peror  is  all  alone.  Ought  he  not  to  surround  himself 
with  powerful  families  ?  His  isolation  is  also  that  of 
France.'  To  which  the  woman,  without  arguing,  sim- 
ply answered:  'No  matter;  it  won't  bring  him  good 
luck.'  '  And  why  not  ?  '  '  It  wont  bring  him  good 
lurk!'" 

On  that  Sunday  of  June  25,  1815,  when  the  van- 
quished of  Waterloo  found  himself  once  more  at 
Malmaison,  that  poetic  residence,  all  filled  with  souve- 
nirs of  Josephine,  in  the  depths  of  his  soul  he  com- 
pared his  second  wife  to  his  first  one,  and  recognized 
—  too  late,  alas! — how  fatal  to  him  the  divorce  had 
been.  Evidently,  feminine  sentiment  and  popular 
instinct  were  not  at  fault :  It  had  not  brought  hint 
good  luck.  In  re-entering  Malmaison  he  forgot  every- 
thing but  Josephine  :  Josephine,  whose  sad  and  grace- 
ful phantom  appeared  to  him  in  each  apartment  of 
the  castle,  and  at  the  turn  of  every  garden-path. 
Madame  Caffarelli,  an  eyewitness,  says  that  "lie 
made  no  allusion  to  his  situation,  but  talked  about 
tin;  domestic  scenes  in  which  he  had  participated 
here.  At  every  door,  at  every  window,  he  recalled 
either  some  remark  of  Josephine's,  some  jest  of  by- 
gone days,  or  some  amusement  of  their  domestic  life." 
Concerning  the  present  and  the  future  lie  said  not  a 
word.      But  the  entire  past  revived  again. 

When  the  Emperor  arrived  at  Malmaison,  no  one 
had  dared  to  ask  him  any  questions  about  his  destina- 
tion. They  had  left  him  to  his  reveries.  It  was  a 
brief  moment  of    repose  on  this  Calvary  whose  sta- 


202  ELBA,    AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

tions  might  be  called  Malmaison,  Rochefort,  the  Bel- 
lerophon,  the  Northumberland,  Saint  Helena.  Napo- 
leon reflected  on  worldly  things  as  if  they  concerned 
him  no  longer.  The  inactivity  of  this  man,  once  so 
pre-eminently  active,  had  something  terrifying  in  it. 
The  next  day,  Monday,  June  26,  1815,  those  about 
him  broke  the  silence,  and  discussed  before  him  the 
part  he  ought  to  take.  The  Duke  of  Bassano  assured 
him  that  the  people  and  the  army  were  on  his  side, 
and  that,  if  he  chose,  he  could  seize  anew  the  reins 
of  government,  make  himself  obeyed  by  the  troops, 
and  dissolve  the  Chambers.  When  the  Duke  had 
gone  out,  Napoleon  said  with  a  melancholy  smile, 
"  Maret  is  always  just  the  same,  always  ready  to  flat- 
ter me  and  himself,  always  ready  to  see  and  believe 
whatever  he  pleases." 

On  that  day  the  Countess  de  Las  Cases  went  to  Mal- 
maison to  meet  her  husband.  "  '  My  dear,'  he  said  to 
her,  '  in  doing  my  duty  I  have  the  consolation  of  not 
compromising  your  interests.  If  Napoleon  IT.  is  to 
rule  us,  I  am  leaving  you  great  claims  upon  him.  If 
Heaven  ordains  otherwise,  I  shall  have  secured  for 
you  a  glorious  refuge  and  a  name  worthy  of  esteem. 
In  any  ease,  we  shall  meet  again,  even  if  it  is  only  in 
a  better  world.'  After  tears  and  even  reproaches, 
which  could  not  but  be  sweet  to  me,"  goes  on  the 
author  of  the  Memoirs,  "she  yielded  and  promised  to 
rejoin  me  soon  ;  and  from  that  moment  I  found  noth- 
ing in  her  but  elevated  enthusiasm,  and  the  courage 
which  might  have  failed  me  if  I  had  needed  it." 


MALMAISON.  203 


The  day  passed,  however,  without  the  Emperor's 
having  spoken  of  the  future.  He  listened  to  all,  and 
made  remarks  on  what  was  said,  but  he  manifested 
no  resolve. 

Tuesday,  June  27.  What  is  to  become  of  the  great 
Emperor,  the  proscribed  man  ?  Where  shall  he  go?  To 
America  or  to  England?  Will  he  be  free?  Will  he  be 
a  prisoner?  If  he  leaves  Malmaison,  this  asylum  of  a 
few  hours,  who  will  protect  him  against  such  outrages 
as  those  which  overwhelmed  him  a  year  ago,  on  his 
way  to  Elba?  Is  he  not  in  danger  of  becoming  a  trophy 
of  Bliicher,  or  of  falling  under  the  blows  of  Royalist 
assassins?  If  he  Avishes  to  go  to  America,  how  is  he 
to  get  to  a  port  of  embarkation  ?  And,  once  at  sea, 
how  can  he  escape  the  English  cruisers?  Every  one 
about  Napoleon  is  asking  such  questions,  but  he  him- 
self seems  to  dread  approaching  them.  In  the  midst 
of  his  distress  there  still  remains  I  know  not  what 
vague  hope  of  regaining  his  position.  He  expects 
unconsciously  some  miraculous  event.  lie  delays 
his  departure  from  Malmaison  as,  in  1812,  he  delayed 
it  from  the  Kremlin.  Out;  might  say  that  a  secret 
force  retained  him  in  this  residence  of  his  happy  days, 
this  gracious  temple  of  his  youth  and  glory.  But 
time  presses.  The  Prussians  are  coming.  Whether 
he  will  or  no,  he  must  depart. 

On  the  preceding  day,  June  2»>,  the  Provisional 
Government  had  issued  a  decree  thus  worded:  — 

"Article  1.  The  Minister  of  the  Navy  shall  give 
orders  that  two  frigates  of  the  port  of  Rochefort  be 


204  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

armed  for  the  transportation  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte 
to  the  United  States. 

"  Art.  2.  He  shall  be  provided  to  the  place  of 
embarkation,  if  he  desires  it,  with  a  sufficient  escort, 
under  command  of  General  Beker,  who  is  charged  to 
provide  for  his  safety. 

"  Art.  3.  The  Postmaster-General,  on  his  part, 
shall  give  orders  relative  to  the  necessary  changes  of 
horses. 

"  Art.  4.  The  Minister  of  the  Navy  shall  issue 
the  necessary  orders  to  assure  the  immediate  return 
of  the  frigates  after  disembarkation. 

"  Art.  5.  The  frigates  shall  not  leave  the  road- 
stead of  Rochefort  until  the  requisite  passports  have 
arrived." 

It  is  from  England,  from  Wellington,  that  the  Pro- 
visional Government  pretends  to  obtain  these  pass- 
ports ;  Wellington  will  refuse  to  give  them.  From 
hour  to  hour  the  situation  becomes  more  difficult. 

Presently  General  Beker,  a  member  of  the  Cham- 
ber of  Deputies,  arrives  at  Malmaison.  lie  comes  to 
announce  to  the  Emperor  that  lie  has  been  sent  by 
the  Minister  of  War  to  take  command  of  the  troops 
committed  to  him  and  to  be  responsible  for  the  Em- 
peror's person  to  the  Provisional  Government.  At 
Malmaison  there  is  a  battalion  of  infantry  and  a  hun- 
dred dragoons  of  the  Imperial  Guard. 

While  General  Beker  is  taking  command  and  being 
acknowledged  by  the  officers,  Napoleon,  walking  in 
the  garden  with  the  Duke  of  Rovigo,  says  to   him; 


MALMAISON.  205 


'•  This  smacks  of  a  revolutionary  committee  rather 
than  a  generous  government.  I  do  not  understand 
why  the  Minister  of  War  did  not  communicate  with 
me.  Perhaps  lie  saw  nothing  wrong  in  that,  but  at 
all  events,  the  choice  of  Beker  reassures  me.  Sieyes 
was  right  in  saving  they  would  abandon  me.  Still, 
I  cannot  go  without  vessels  and  passports ;  otherwise, 
the  first  village  mayor  could  arrest  me.  All  that 
would  be  necessary  would  be  to  tell  him  that  I  am 
carrying  off  treasure  ;  he  would  write  to  Paris,  the 
Provisional  Government  would  not  answer,  matters 
would  be  precipitated,  and  that  is  how  one  would 
come  to  ruin." 

General  Beker  Mas  neither  a  jailer  nor  a  traitor. 
He  was  an  honorable  man,  a  brave  soldier,  and  the 
brother-in-law  of  General  Desaix.  According  to 
Count  de  Las  Cases,  '*  Fouche  knew  that  Beker  had 
personal  reasons  to  complain  of  the  Emperor,  and  he 
expected  to  find  him  bitter  and  disposed  to  ven- 
geance ;  he  could  not  have  deceived  himself  more 
grossly.  This  General  constantly  displayed  a  respect 
and  devotion  most  honorable  to  his  character."  Of 
tried  loyalty,  he  was  incapable  of  remembering  that 
he  luul  been  disgraced  in  1800.  When  he  saw  the 
emotion  depicted  on  the  General's  strong  countenance, 
Napoleon  recognized  at  once  that  he  had  to  do  with 
a  man  of  feeling.  lie  gave  him  a  friendly  recep- 
tion. To  the  very  end  he  found  in  him  a  respectful 
servant  and  a  friend  in  misfortune.  But  he  distrusted 
the  Provisional  Government  as  thoroughly  as  he  con- 


206  ELBA,   AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

fided  in  General  Beker.  "  Would  they  be  capable," 
he  asked,  "of  leaving  me  no  alternative  except  that 
of  giving  myself  up  to  my  enemies  ?  " 

The  same  day  the  Minister  of  the  Navy,  Duke 
Decr£s,  arrived  at  Malmaison  and  communicated  to 
Napoleon  the  following  despatch  from  Fouche* :  — 

"  Paris,  June  27,  morning.  To  the  Minister  of  the 
Navy.  M.  le  Due,  it  is  urgent  that  the  Emperor 
should  depart.  The  enemy  is  advancing,  and  may 
be  already  at  Compiegne.  The  Committee  desire 
that  you  should  repair  at  once  to  Malmaison  to  in- 
duce the  Emperor  to  leave,  because  we  cannot  be 
responsible  for  what  may  happen.  As  to  that  pro- 
vision of  Article  5,  of  yesterday's  decree,  which  re- 
lates to  the  passports,  the  Committee  authorize  you 
to  consider  it  null  and  void.  All  the  other  pro- 
visions remain  in  force. 

"  [Signed]  The  Duke  of  Otranto. 

"P.S.  It  is  important  that  the  Emperor  should 
go  in  disguise." 

The  Minister  of  the  Navy  had  hardly  left  Mal- 
maison when  the  Emperor  was  informed  of  new  con- 
tradictory instructions  from  Fondie",  in  which  he 
said:  "According  to  the  despatches  just  received, 
the  Emperor  cannot  leave  our  ports  without  safe- 
conducts.  He  must  await  them  on  the  road.  Con- 
sequently, the  decree  of  yesterday  remains  in  full 
force,  and  the  letter  written  this  morning  to  annul 
Article  5,  is  superseded.  Guide  yourself  by  the  text 
of  yesterday's  decree." 


31ALMAIS0N.  207 


It  is  impossible  to  mistake  the  intent  of  all  these 
incertitudes  and  contradictory  measures.  As  "Walter 
Scott  has  said:  "The  members  of  the  Provisional 
Government,  like  skilful  fishermen,  had  gradually 
cast  their  nets  about  Napoleon,  and  they  thought  it 
was  time  to  draw  him  to  land.*'  Let  us  render  Duke 
Decres  the  justice  to  admit  that  he  made  every  effort 
to  save  the  Emperor  from  captivity.  The  day  be- 
fore, June  26,  he  had  written  to  him :  "  You  will 
notice,  Sire,  on  the  list  of  American  vessels,  one 
which  is  now  at  Havre.  The  captain  is  in  my  ante- 
chamber. His  post-chaise  is  at  the  door.  I  answer 
for  him.  To-morrow  you  will  be  out  of  reach  of 
your  enemies."'  Napoleon  had  refused  this  offer. 
To  save  himself  clandestinely  on  a  merchant  vessel 
seemed  to  him  unworthy  of  his  glory ;  and  when  he 
saw  around  him  a  handful  of  young  military  heroes 
still  dreaming  of  battles  and  adventures,  and  believ- 
ing even  at  this  moment  in  the  possibility  of  aveng- 
ing Waterloo,  he  did  not  wholly  despair  of  drawing 
the  sword  once  more. 

Wednesday.  June  28.  The  situation,  however,  was 
1  >cc< lining  more  and  more;  disquieting.  It  was  to  be 
feared,  from  hour  to  hour,  that  Malmaison  might  be 
sei/.ed  by  the  enemy.  Their  cannon  could  lie  heard 
already  on  the  plain  of  Saint-Denis:  it  was  the  sec- 
ond time  in  fifteen  months  that  this  disastrous  sound 
had  stupefied  and  afllicted  patriotic  souls.  The 
bridges  of  Neuilly,  Saint-Cloud,  and  Sevres  had  been 
barricaded,  and  those  of  Saint-Denis,  Bezons,  Chatou, 


208  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

and  Pecq  destroyed.  But  these  precautions  could 
not  protect  Malmaison  from  a  surprise.  The  Prus- 
sian fires  could  be  seen  on  the  other  side  of  the  Seine. 
The  little  garrison,  comprising  a  battalion  of  in- 
fantry and  a  hundred  dragoons  of  the  Guard,  under 
Generals  de  Flahault,  Gourgaud,  de  Labedoyere, 
Bertrand,  and  Savary,  made  preparations  for  a  vig- 
orous resistance.  Near  the  Emperor,  however,  all 
remained  calm,  and  no  one  knew  what  decision  he 
had  reached  when  he  summoned  all  his  friends.  "  I 
have  done  all  that  you  wished,"  said  he.  "  Here  are 
my  letters  to  the  Provisional  Government  and  niy 
correspondence  with  the  Minister  of  the  Navy.  The 
difficulties  they  have  put  in  the  way  of  giving  me 
two  armed  frigates  have  delayed  me  until  now.  It 
is  their  fault  that  I  did  not  go  sooner,  but  I  am  about 
to  go." 

Yet,  even  while  making  these  preparations  for  de- 
parture, Napoleon  still  preserved  a  lingering  hope. 
As  Walter  Scott  has  expressed  it,  he  listened  to  the 
cannonading  in  the  distance  as  a  war-horse  listens  to 
the  sound  of  the  trumpet.  Some  officers  from  the 
army  arrived  at  Malmaison,  their  uniforms  covered 
with  blood  and  dust,  and  besought  their  General, 
their  ICmperor,  to  place  himself  once  more  at  their 
head.  They  informed  him  that  the  enemy  had  com- 
mitted the  imprudence  of  advancing  in  two  bodies  of 
sixty  thousand  each,  which  left  them  so  far  apart 
that  Bliicher  might  be  overpowered  before  Welling- 
ton could  reach  him.     Grouchy,  having  dexterously 


MALMAISON.  209 


escaped  from  pursuit,  was  coming  with  fresh  troops 
in  excellent  order:  his  advance  columns  were  already 
approaching  Paris  by  all  the  eastern  routes,  and 
there  would  be  sixty  thousand  men  to  engage  the 
sixty  thousand  Prussians,  and  to  turn  afterwards 
against  the  English.  Napoleon  thanked  the  officers 
for  their  news,  and  during  the  night  of  June  28-29, 
he  ruminated  the  project  of  resuming  command  of 
the  troops. 

Concerning  this  project  Walter  Scott  has  said: 
"  At  a  moment  when  the  capital  was  about  to  be  sur- 
rounded anew  by  foreign  armies,  an  honorable  senti- 
ment, united  to  political  considerations,  might  have 
made  Napoleon  hope  that  the  representatives,  in 
order  to  make  use  of  his  extraordinary  talents,  and 
his  influence  over  the  troops  and  the  federates,  who 
alone  could  defend  Paris,  would  be  disposed  to  lay 
aside  personal  animosities  and  permit  him  to  resume 
his  sword  for  the  protection  of  the  capital.  But  dis- 
cord had  made  too  much  progress  in  the  interior." 
In  the  night  of  June  28-29,  at  the  very  moment 
when  Napoleon  was  beginning  to  cherish  a  last  hope, 
Duke  Decres  and  M.  Boulay  de  la  Meurthe  came  to 
Malmaison  to  notify  him  of  the  definitive  instructions 
of  the  Provisional  Government.  They  were  in  this 
wise  :  — 

"  Long  delays  having  elapsed  since  passports  were 
demanded  for  Napoleon,  and  the  existing  circum- 
stances arousing  fears  for  his  personal  safety,  we 
have  decided  to  regard  Article  5  of  our  decree  of 


210  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

June  26,  as  null  and  void.  Consequently,  the  frigates 
are  placed  at  Napoleon's  disposal.  No  obstacle  to  his 
departure  now  remains.  The  interests  of  the  State, 
as  well  as  his  own,  demand  imperiously  that  he  shall 
start  at  once  after  you  have  notified  him  of  our  deter- 
mination." 

The  Emperor  replied  that  he  was  ready  to  go,  but 
would  first  despatch  a  message  to  the  Provisional 
Government. 

Thursday,  June  29.  At  daybreak,  Napoleon  or- 
dered his  saddle-horses  to  be  got  ready,  put  on  his 
uniform,  and  summoned  General  Beker.  He  said  to 
him,  in  very  nearly  these  words,  "  The  enemy  has 
just  made  a  great  blunder,  —  one  that  might  easily 
have  been  anticipated,  for  that  matter,  from  the  char- 
acter of  the  two  allied  generals.  They  have  advanced 
in  two  masses  of  sixty  thousand  men  each,  which  has 
left  so  considerable  a  distance  between  them  that  one 
could  be  overpowered  before  the  other  would  have 
time  to  come  up.  We  have  here  a  unique  occasion, 
arranged  for  us  by  Providence,  which  it  would  be 
both  guilty  and  foolish  in  us  to  neglect.  You  know, 
General,  that  at  present  all  is  lost ;  there  is  no  hope. 
Very  well !  let  them  give  me  back  the  command  of 
the  army,  and  I  promise  to  conquer  at  its  head.  Go 
and  present  my  request  to  the  Executive  Committee. 
Explain  to  them  thoroughly  that  I  do  not  dream  of 
resuming  power ;  I  want  only  to  fight  the  enemy, 
crush  them  before  Paris,  shelter  you  all  by  a  victory, 
and  constrain  the  chiefs  of  the   Coalition  to  desire 


MALMAISON,  '211 


peace.  That  done,  I  will  continue  my  route  toward 
exile.  ...  I  give  them  my  word  of  honor,  my  word 
as  general,  soldier,  and  citizen,  not  to  keep  command 
an  hour  after  the  certain  and  brilliant  victory  which 
I  promise  to  gain,  not  for  myself,  but  for  France.  .  .  . 
Go,  General ;  I  confide  myself  to  you.  Aid  me  in 
this,  and  you  shall  never  leave  me  again." 

General  Beker  started  immediately  to  Paris  with 
this  message,  of  which  these  are  the  concluding 
words :  "  The  hurried  march  of  the  enemies  upon 
the  capital  leaves  no  room  to  doubt  their  bad  faith. 
In  these  grave  circumstances,  gentlemen,  I  ask  to 
serve  France  for  the  last  time,  and  I  swear  to  save 
it." 

On  arriving  at  the  Tuileries,  General  Beker  deliv- 
ered Napoleon's  message  to  the  five  members  of  the 
Provisional  Government.  "What  do  you  think  of 
that?"  said  Fouche"  to  his  colleagues.  "I  think  lie 
is  laughing  at  us.  Come!  this  is  going  too  far!" 
Then,  turning  toward  the  General:  "Why  did  you 
bring  such  a  message  as  that  ?  Don't  you  know  the 
situation?  For  Napoleon  to  appear  again  in  command 
of  the  army  would  be  equivalent  to  another  disaster, 
and  the  ruin  of  Paris.  Let  him  leave  at  once,  for 
they  are  demanding  his  person,  and  we  cannot  answer 
for  his  safety  more  than  a  few  hours."  The  General 
was  instructed  to  carry  back  to  Malmaison  this 
laconic  response  of  the  five  members  of  the  Provis- 
ional Government :  "  The  duties  of  the  Committee 
toward  the  country  do  not  permit  it  to  accept  the 


212  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

proposition  and  the  active  assistance  of  the  Emperor 
Napoleon." 

General  Beker  returned  in  all  haste  to  Malmaison. 
He  found  the  Emperor  in  uniform,  either  believing 
or  feigning  to  believe  that  he  might  have  received  a 
favorable  reply  from  Fouche*.  After  reading  the 
missive  of  the  Provisional  Government,  Napoleon  con- 
tented himself  with  saying :  "  These  men  are  inca- 
pable of  energy.  Since  that  is  the  case,  let  us  go  into 
exile."  He  had  his  horses  unsaddled,  and  replaced 
his  uniform  by  a  citizen's  dress.  A  young  merchant 
came  hurriedly  to  warn  him  that  in  the  plain  of  Saint- 
Denis  he  had  seen  three  corps  of  Prussian  cavalry 
which  were  following  the  course  of  the  Seine  and 
seemed  to  be  approaching  Malmaison.  The  Emperor 
thanked  him  for  the  information,  and  ordered  the  car- 
riages to  be  brought  up.  His  suite  was  divided  into 
two  parts.  The  first  was  composed  of  several  car- 
riages intended  to  contain  M.  and  Madame  de  Mon- 
tholon  and  their  child,  M.  de  Las  Gases,  his  son, 
and  several  orderlies.  They  were  to  gain  the  Or- 
leans road,  pass  through  Chateauroux,  and  reach 
Kochefort  on  a  certain  day.  The  other  division  com- 
prised only  a  single  light  calash,  which  Napoleon, 
General  Bertrand,  and  the  Duke  of  Itovigo  were  to 
occupy.  The  Emperor's  valet  was  on  the  coachman's 
seat.  A  courier  went  ahead  to  order  the  carriages  at 
the  different  post-stations. 

The  carriages  destined  for  the  first  division  drew 
up  in  the  principal  courtyard,  in  front  of  the  vestibule 


MALMAISON.  ,  213 


of  the  chateau,  while  the  Emperor's  calash  waited  for 
him  in  the  small  court  separating  the  house  from  the 
kitchens.  Napoleon  went  to  it  through  the  winding 
alleys  of  the  garden.  He  said  farewell  to  his  mother, 
his  brothers,  and  his  faithful  servants.  Queen  Hor- 
tense  begged  him  to  accept  a  diamond  necklace,  so 
that  he  might  have  resources  at  hand  which  it  would 
be  easy  to  conceal.  He  refused  at  first.  Hortense 
insisted  :  she  wept.  He  yielded,  took  the  necklace, 
put  it  in  his  coat  pocket,  and  gave  a  last  glance  at 
the  trees  which  had  sheltered  beneath  their  foliage  so 
many  joys  and  so  much  glory.  Then  he  quickly  en- 
tered the  carriage,  and  seeing  him  depart,  all  the 
spectators  melted  into  tears. 


XIII. 


EOCHEFOET. 


THE  heat  was  stifling  when  the  carriage  contain- 
ing the  Emperor  and  Generals  Bertrand,  Beker, 
and  Savary  quitted  Malmaison.  Napoleon  did  not 
speak  a  word,  and  his  companions,  as  melancholy  as 
himself,  respected  his  silence.  The  carriage,  which 
resembled  a  funeral  coach,  went  through  the  woods 
of  Butart  to  Rocquencourt,  and  without  passing 
through  Versailles,  which  was  on  the  left,  it  went  by 
Saint-Cyr  to  take  the  Chartres  road.  They  reached 
Rambouillet  at  nightfall.  The  Emperor  slept  at  the 
chateau.  It  was  the  last  imperial  residence  in  which 
he  lodged.  The  same  thing  had  happened  to  Marie 
Louise.  She  had  stayed  there  with  her  son  from 
April  13  to  April  23  the  previous  year.  It  was  there 
she  became  the  prisoner  of  Austria ;  there  she  had  an 
interview  with  her  father  ;  from  there  she  started  for 
Vienna.  Rambouillet,  therefore,  afforded  Napoleon 
a  subject  for  some  bitter  reflections.  As  sovereign, 
as  husband,  and  as  father,  he  must  have  yielded  to 
sorrowful  meditations. 

Friday,  June  30,  1815.     At  a  very  early  hour  the 
214 


EOCIIEFOHT.  216 


carriage  containing  the  Emperor  and  the  three  gen- 
erals left  the  chateau  of  Rambouillet  by  the  path  con- 
ducting to  the  park  gate,  which  opens  on  the  Chartres 
road  beyond  the  town. 

At  the  Chateaudun  station  the  post-mistress  came 
with  a  frightened  face  to  the  carriage  door  to  inquire 
if  the  travellers  came  from  Paris,  and  if  it  were  true 
that  Napoleon  had  met  with  misfortune.  Hardly 
had  she  asked  the  question  when  she  recognized  the 
Emperor.  Without  another  word  she  lifted  her  eyes 
to  heaven  and  went  back  weeping  into  her  house. 

The  travellers  went  on  by  Vendome  to  Tours, 
which  they  passed  through  by  night.  The  carriage 
stopped  on  the  Poitiers  road,  just  after  leaving  the 
city.  The  Emperor  wished  to  see  the  prefect,  and 
Savary  going  to  fetch  him,  he  talked  for  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  with  this  official.  Then  he  resumed  his 
journey,  preserving  the  strictest  incognito. 

Saturday,  July  1.  They  passed  through  Poitiers 
in  the  daytime.  The  heat  was  excessive.  They 
stopped  for  a  short  time  at  the  post-house,  which  was 
outside  the  town,  and  took  some  brief  repose  without 
being  recognized. 

At  Saint-Maixent  they  found  a  crowd  assembled 
in  the  square  in  front  of  the  town  hall.  The  National 
Guard  were  on  the  alert  since  the  troubles  had  begun 
again  in  La  Vendue.  They  stopped  the  carriage  and 
demanded  passports.  General  Beker  showed  his,  and 
also  the  orders  of  the  Provisional  Government.  No 
mention  was  made  of  the  Emperor,  and  he  was  not 


216  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

recognized.  The  General's  firmness  succeeded  in 
overcoming  all  difficulties,  and  they  were  allowed  to 
go  on.  At  nightfall  they  reached  Niort,  where  they 
remained  nearly  two  days.  Napoleon  still  enter- 
tained a  vague  hope  that  some  unforeseen  event 
might  recall  him,  if  not  to  the  throne,  at  least  to  the 
command  of  the  troops,  and  not  having  abandoned 
the  thought  of  going  back,  lie  travelled  with  inten- 
tional slowness. 

Sunday,  July  2.  The  sentiments  testified  by  the 
people  of  Niort  fed  the  last  illusions  of  the  Emperor. 
There  were  troops  in  the  town  intended  to  repress 
the  rising  in  La  Vendue.  They  gave  Napoleon  a 
very  warm  reception.  As  soon  as  his  arrival  became 
known,  soldiers,  citizens,  and  people  of  the  lower 
classes  crowded  under  his  windows,  demanding  to  see 
him.  He  appeared,  and  was  greeted  with  cheers. 
The  prefect  begged  him  to  stay  at  the  prefecture,  and 
he  accepted  the  invitation.  The  day  passed  in  pro- 
found emotion,  shared  alike  by  him  and  the  popula- 
tion. 

Monday,  July  ?>.  General  Beker,  always  respectful 
toward  the  Emperor,  told  him  in  the  morning  that  it 
might  be  dangerous  to  delay  in  this  manner,  as  there 
was  reason  to  fear  the  arrival  of  an  English  fleet 
before  Rochefort,  which  would  render  his  departure 
for  the  United  States  impossible.  Napoleon  allowed 
himself  to  be  convinced,  and  left  Niort,  but  not  with- 
out regret.  A  detachment  of  light  cavalry  escorted 
him.     Before   evening   they  entered   Rochefort.     In 


ROC  HE  FORT.  217 


the  town  and  its  environs  were  a  regiment  of  naval 
artillery,  fifteen  hundred  National  Guards,  and  nearly 
three  thousand  gens  d'armes,  all  of  them  well  disposed 
toward  the  Emperor.  They  protested  their  devotion 
to  him.  They  begged  to  follow  him.  He  stayed  at 
the  Maritime  Prefecture,  and  the  people  gave  him 
just  such  a  welcome  as  he  had  received  at  Niort. 
There  was  not  a  soldier  within  ten  leagues  who  was 
not  anxious  to  see  him.  "  The  people,"  says  the 
Duke  of  Rovigo,  an  eyewitness,  "  never  went  from 
under  the  Emperor's  windows ;  lie  was  obliged  to 
show  himself  at  times  to  satisfy  their  impatience. 
Every  time  he  did  so  he  was  received  with  the  same 
respect  as  if  he  had  triumphed  over  all  his  enemies. 
Roche  fort  is  one  of  the  towns  on  whose  sanitation 
Napoleon  had  expended  most  money.  For  many 
years  he  had  continued  the  works  for  drying  up  the 
marshes  that  surround  it,  and  had  also  done  much 
toward  embellishing  the  town  itself.  All  these  under- 
takings had  been  crowned  with  success;  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Kochefort  were  grateful  on  that  account,  and 
not  afraid  to  show  it." 

Tuenday,  July  4.  Napoleon  was  soon  to  be  forced 
to  a  decision.  Up  to  June  29  there  had  been  few  Eng- 
lish cruisers  in  sight,  and  those  far  away.  But  since 
that  day  they  were  approaching  the  two  channels, 
the  Brittany  channel  and  that  of  Antioche,  by  which 
Rochefort  communicates  with  the  sea.  In  the  road- 
stead lay  two  French  men-of-war,  the  Saale  and  the 
Meduse,  which  the  Provisional  Government  had  put 


218  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

at  the  disposal  of  the  Emperor  to  land  him  wherever 
he  chose  except  on  any  part  of  the  French  coast,  but 
they  were  now  blockaded  by  English  cruisers. 

The  situation  constantly  becoming  more  critical, 
Napoleon  called  a  naval  council  in  the  morning  of 
July  4,  to  consider  it  on  all  sides.  Admiral  Martin  and 
Baron  Bonnefoux,  the  maritime  prefect,  were  present. 

It  was  said  at  this  council  that,  notwithstanding 
the  approach  of  the  English  vessels,  the  two  French 
frigates  had  the  reputation  of  being  such  good  sailers 
that,  once  outside  the  channels,  they  could  elude  all 
pursuit.  Still,  favorable  winds  would  be  required, 
and  at  present,  unfortunately,  they  were  contrary. 
Napoleon,  who  greatly  dreaded  leaving  France,  did 
not  complain  much  at  this  delay.  More  occupied, 
probably,  with  what  was  passing  at  Paris  than  with 
events  at  Rochefort,  he  followed  the  confused  accounts 
in  the  journals,  in  the  hope  of  drawing  from  them 
some  conclusion  favorable  to  himself,  or,  at  least, 
favorable  to  his  son. 

The  maritime  prefect  wrote  the  following  letter  on 
July  4,  to  the  Minister  of  the  Navy :  "  Monseigneur,  I 
have  the  honor  to  inform  Your  Excellency  that  Napo- 
leon arrived  at  Rochefort  yesterday,  at  nine  in  the 
morning,  with  his  suite.  The  frigates  were  ready, 
but  the  English  fleet  stationed  here,  consisting  of 
two  ships,  two  frigates,  two  corvettes,  and  a  small 
vessel,  blockade  the  port,  and  every  kind  of  transport 
from  the  Gironde  to  La  Rochelle,  so  completely  that 
there  is  neither  hope  of   getting   past   them   unper- 


ROCHEFORT.  219 


ceived  nor  of  forcing  a  way  between  them.  The 
august  personage  whom  the  French  nation  has  taken 
under  its  protection  has  made  all  his  arrangements 
fur  departure.  The  intentions  of  the  commission  and 
the  orders  of  Your  Excellency  will  be  executed  in 
every  point  which  concerns  me.  His  Majesty  is  and 
will  be  treated  with  attention  and  respect  due  to  his 
situation  and  to  the  crown  which  he  has  worn." 

On  the  same  day,  the  carriages  which  had  left 
Malmaison  when  the  Emperor  did,  and  which  carried 
Madame  Bertrand,  M.  and  Madame  de  Montholon, 
M.  de  Las  Cases,  and  their  children,  as  well  as  several 
orderly  officers,  arrived  at  Rochefort.  In  the  evening 
King  Joseph  made  his  appearance. 

Wednesday,  July  5,  to  Friday,  July  7.  Listen  to 
Count  de  Las  Cases,  an  eyewitness  :  "  At  Rochefort 
the  Emperor  no  longer  wore  a  uniform.  He  lodged 
at  the  prefecture,  and  a  great  many  people  were  con- 
stantly grouped  about  the  house.  From  time  to  time 
cheers  broke  out;  twice  or  thrice  the  Emperor  made 
his  appearance  in  the  balcony.  Many  propositions 
were  made  to  him  by  generals  who  came  in  per- 
son or  sent  special  emissaries.  For  the  rest,  during 
his  entire  stay  at  Rochefort,  the  Emperor  was  pre- 
cisely as  he  had  been  in  the  Tuileries  ;  we  did  not 
approach  him  more  freely ;  he  received  hardly  any 
one  except  Bertrand  and  Savary,  and  we  were  re- 
duced to  rumors  and  conjectures  concerning  him. 
Always,  it  seems  as  if  the  Emperor,  in  the  midst  of 
whatever  agitation  of  men  and  things,  remains  calm 


220  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DATS. 

and  impassible,  shows  himself  very  indifferent,  and, 
above  all,  very  little  harassed." 

In  reality,  Napoleon  did  not  wish  to  depart  until 
he  knew  the  result  of  the  political  crisis  which,  at 
Paris,  was  reaching  its  height.  He  had  still  a  linger- 
ing hope,  so  long  as  the  army  clung  to  the  tricolor 
and  Louis  XVIII.  had  not  re-entered  the  Tuileries. 
The  Provisional  Government  and  the  two  Chambers 
were  in  their  agony.  On  July  3,  a  capitulation  had 
been  signed,  in  virtue  of  which  the  French  army 
evacuated  Paris,  and  retired  across  the  Loire.  The 
soldiers  had  in  vain  broken  their  weapons  and  ex- 
claimed against  this  treason.  On  July  5,  the  enemy 
entered  the  capital  as  if  it  were  a  conquered  city. 

King  Joseph,  on  his  way  to  Rochefort,  had  seen 
the  French  columns  marching  towards  the  Loire. 
He  had  heard  generals,  officers,  and  soldiers  ardently 
longing  for  the  presence  of  the  Emperor.  This  news 
agitated  Napoleon  greatly.  On  learning  that  the 
Army  of  the  Loire  would  be  raised  to  eighty  thou- 
sand men,  he  recalled  the  miracles  he  had  so  often 
wrought  with  many  less,  both  in  the  first  Italian 
campaign  and  in  that  of  1814.  Saying  to  himself 
that  his  abdication  might  be  considered  null,  since 
no  account  had  been  made  of  his  son's  rights,  he  ex- 
perienced  a  violent  temptation  to  place  himself  once 
more  at  the  head  of  the  troops.  But  reflection 
showed  him  that  France  was  weary  of  fighting;  that 
all  Europe  would  rise  in  arms  against  him,  if  he 
attempted  to  reappear  upon  the  scene,  and  that  he, 


ROQUEFORT.  221 


the  great  Emperor,  could  not  without  loss  descend  to 
the  part  of  a  mere  part)-  chief.  But  what  was  he 
to  do  ?  Where  would  he  find  a  refuge  ?  How 
should  he  escape  the  English  cruisers?  How  reach 
the  United  States? 

Propositions,  each  more  dangerous  than  the  others, 
were  constantly  being  made  to  the  unfortunate  Em- 
peror. A  French  seaman,  M.  Besson,  commanding 
a  Danish  merchant  vessel,  guaranteed  to  conceal  him 
perfectly,  and  offered  to  start  at  once  for  the  United 
States.  .  He  demanded  nothing  but  a  small  sum, 
sufficient  to  idemnify  the  owners.  A  contract  was 
signed,  but  Napoleon  refused  to  hide  himself  in 
the  hold  of  a  neutral  vessel.  Such  a  lurking-place 
seemed  to  him  unworthy  of  his  glory. 

Another  proposition,  suggested  by  Admiral  Mar- 
tin, was  for  him  to  go  up  the  Seudre  in  a  small  boat, 
cross  on  horseback  the  tongue  of  land  separating  the 
Charente  from  the  Gironde,  and  embark  at  Royan  on 
a  French  corvette,  commanded  by  Captain  Baudin, 
a  daring  and  distinguished  seaman,  who  died  an 
admiral  of  France.  But  it  was  feared  that  the  cor- 
vette could  not  escape  the  British  fleet. 

Finally  a  small  coasting-vessel  was  suggested.  It 
was  all  ready  to  sail,  and  was  to  be  manned  by  mid- 
shipmen wlio  hoped  to  outwit  the  vigilance  of  the 
cruisers.  But  once  at  sea.  this  coaster  would  be  sus- 
pected, and  it  was  more  than  doubtful  whether  it 
was  substantial  enough  to  make  a  voyage  like  that 
from  Rochefort  to  the  United  States. 


222  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 


Moreover,  time  was  pressing.  Louis  XVIII.  was 
about  to  reascend  the  throne,  and  his  instructions 
against  Napoleon  would  certainly  be  more  rigorous 
than  those  of  the  Provisional  Government.  It  was 
plain  that  Napoleon  would  not  be  permitted  to  profit 
by  the  French  frigates,  and  would  be  in  danger  of 
becoming  the  King's  prisoner. 

Saturday,  July  8.  In  the  morning,  General  Beker 
observed  respectfully  to  the  Emperor  that  the  time 
for  delay  was  over.  Napoleon  decided,  therefore,  to 
leave  Rochefort  for  the  roadstead  of  the  Island  of 
Aix,  where  he  could  go  on  board  the  Saale,  one  of 
the  two  French  frigates,  and  there  await  a  favorable 
wind.  That  evening  he  started  in  a  carriage  for 
Fouras,  which  is  at  the  mouth  of  the  Charente,  in 
the  roadstead  of  Aix.  The  people,  hearing  of  his 
departure,  hastened  to  attend  him  on  his  journey. 
There  was  a  considerable  crowd  when  he  alighted 
from  the  carriage  at  Fouras.  All  wore  sad  faces, 
and  the  whisper  went  round,  "  Is  it  possible  that 
such  a  great  man  should  be  abandoned  like  this?" 

The  Emperor  bade  adieu  to  each  one  of  the  detach- 
ment of  cavalry  who  had  accompanied  him,  and  got 
into  the  SaaWs  yawl,  which  had  been  waiting  for 
him  before  the  chateau  of  Fouras.  The  officers  of 
his  suite  followed  in  the  boats  of  the  MSduse.  It 
was  late  when  he  went  aboard  the  Saale,  the  wind 
being  contrary  and  very  strong.  He  spent  the  night 
of  July  8-9  on  the  ship. 

Sunday.  July   9.     In   the    morning,  as  the  winds 


ROCHEFORT.  223 


still  remained  contrary,  the  Emperor  and  his  suite 
went  to  the  Island  of  Aix.  He  visited  the  fortifica- 
tions and  reviewed  the  regiment  of  marines,  who 
shouted,  "'Long  live  the  Emperor!  To  the  Army  of 
Loire  ! "  He  went  back  to  the  Saale  for  breakfast. 
During  the  day  the  winds  became  more  favorable, 
but  the  English  fleet  seemed  to  be  watching  the 
French  frigates.  In  the  evening  Napoleon,  feeling 
inclined  to  return  to  Rochefort,  embarked  in  a  small 
boat. so  as  to  be  less  noticed;  but  as  the  shore  seemed 
guarded,  he  went  back  to  the  Island  of  Aix.  He 
was  blockaded  on  this  island,  without  means  of 
egress  either  toward  the  continent  or  the  sea.  Pro- 
posals for  a  clandestine  flight  were  again  renewed; 
but  he  continued  to  reject  the  idea  of  embarking  on 
a  coasting-vessel.  Among  other  reasons  he  assigned 
that  of  the  necessity  of  revictualling  on  the  coast  of 
Spain  or  Portugal,  which  would  expose  him  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  a  powerful  enemy.  The  Danish 
corvette  was  also  suggested.  As  it  was  certain  that 
she  would  be  searched  by  the  English  as  soon  as  she 
quitted  the  port,  the  Emperor  was  assured  that  a 
hiding-place  could  be  contrived  for  him.  It  was  a 
cask  to  be  stowed  among  the  ballast,  and  provided 
with  tubes  for  introducing  air.  But  the  extreme 
rigor  with  which  the  search  would  doubtless  be 
made,  and  the  corpulence  of  Napoleon,  which  would 
not  permit  of  his  remaining  any  length  of  time 
closely  confined  in  such  an  uncomfortable  position, 
caused  this  expedient  to  be  rejected:  besides,  the 
Emperor  refused  it  as  undignified. 


224  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

The  danger  continued  to  increase.  The  white  flag 
was  about  to  be  raised  at  Rochefort.  Already  the 
commandant  of  the  place  had  caused  Napoleon  to  be 
notified,  as  respectfully  as  possible,  that  he  must 
think  seriously  of  departing.  The  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment was  no  longer  in  existence.  The  hall  of 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies  had  been  clc-sed  by  the 
Prussians.  On  July  8,  Louis  XVIIL,  e^orted  by 
the  Marshal  Dukes  of  Tarento,  Ragusa,  Feifre,  Reg- 
gio,  and  Belluno,  had  triumphantly  re-entered  the 
Tuileries.  Napoleon  could  foresee  that  he  would 
not  be  protected  by  the  batteries  of  the  Island  of  Aix 
much  longer.  He  could  no  longer  expect  any  con- 
sideration on  the  part  of  France.  And  then  it  was 
that  the  idea  came  to  him  of  confiding  himself  to  the 
generosity  of  England. 

Monday,  July  10.  In  the  night  of  July  9-10,  Na- 
poleon sent  the  Duke  of  Rovigo  and  Count  de  Las 
Cases  to  the  commander  of  the  English  fleet,  Captain 
Maitland,  who  was  on  board  the  man-of-war  Beller- 
opJwn.  The  two  messengers  of  the  Emperor  left 
the  Sadie  in  a  small  schooner,  availing  themselves 
of  the  outgoing  tide,  which  carried  them  beyond 
Point  Chassiron,  at  the  extremity  of  the  Island  of 
Oleron,  where  the  English  vessel  was  cruising  about 
in  company  with  the  corvette  Myrmidon. 

The  two  envoys  went  on  board  the  Bcllcroplion 
about  eight  in  the  morning.  M.  de  Las  Cases  ap- 
prised Captain  Maitland  of  some  news  of  which  he 
Mas  still  in  ignorance,  namely :    that  in  consequence 


ROCUEFOBT.  225 


of  the  events  which  had  followed  the  battle  of 
Waterloo,  the  Emperor  had  abdicated  and  come  to 
Kochefort  with  the  intention  of  sailing  for  America ; 
that  the  Provisional  Government  had  demanded 
passports  for  him  from  Wellington,  who  had  referred 
the  request  to  London ;  and  that  it  was  thought  they 
might  have  been  forwarded  to  the  English  fleet,  sta- 
tioned near  Rochefort.  Captain  Maitland  replied 
that  he  had  received  nothing.  M.  de  Las  Cases 
returned  that  the  Emperor,  having  completely  ter- 
minated his  political  career,  desired  to  go  away  peace- 
ably:  and  that  if  he  was  anxious  for  passports,  it 
was  because  he  desired  to  prevent  an  engagement 
between  the  two  French  frigates  and  such  Britannic 
vessels  as  they  might  meet. 

"  I  was  entirely  ignorant  of  the  details  you  have 
given  me,"  replied  Captain  Maitland.  "  I  had  heard 
of  nothing  but  the  victory  at  Waterloo.  Conse- 
quently, I  cannot  answer  the  request  which  is  the 
subject  of  your  message.  But  if  you  will  wait  a  few 
moments,  I  shall  probably  know  more  about  it,  for 
I  see  a  corvette  trying  to  come  up  to  us.  She  sig- 
nals that  she  comes  from  England  and  has  letters 
for  me.  I  shall  handle  the  vessel  so  as  to  make  her 
approach  easier,  and  meantime  we  will  go  to  break- 
fast." The  corvette  was  the  Falmouth,  which  did, 
in  fact,  come  from  England,  and  had  passed  through 
the  Bay  of  Quiberon,  whence  it  brought  despatches 
from  Admiral  Hotham. 

Savary   and   Las  Cases  were  eating  breakfast  with 


226  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

Captain  Maitland  when  the  captain  of  the  Falmouth 
reached  the  Bellerophon.  After  learning  the  con- 
tents of  Admiral  Hotham's  despatches,  Maitland 
said :  "  There  is  not  a  word  concerning  what  you 
have  just  told  me ;  I  know,  even,  that  when  the 
Falmouth  sailed  they  knew  nothing  about  it  in  Eng- 
land." 

The  conversation  was  very  courteous  on  both  sides- 
Captain  Maitland  spoke  French  well.  He  was  an 
honorable  seaman,  and  a  man  of  good  breeding,  who 
seemed  to  respect  Napoleon's  misfortunes. 

He  ended  by  saying  to  his  two  interlocutors :  "  I 
should  like  to  be  able  to  satisfy  you,  but  you  see  I 
cannot.  I  am  going  to  notify  my  Admiral,  who  is  in 
the  Bay  of  Quiberon,  of  your  coming  on  board.  At 
the  same  time  I  will  send  him  the  letter  you  brought 
me  from  General  Bertrand,  and  let  you  know  his 
answer  as  soon  as  I  receive  it." 

Las  Cases  replied  :  "  The  Emperor  does  not  want 
to  steal  away  clandestinely.  Personalty,  he  has  no 
motive  for  doing  so,  as  the  application  we  have  just 
made  on  his  behalf  sufficiently  proves.  But  if,  before 
your  response  arrives,  the  wind  should  become  favor- 
able, and,  desiring  to  profit  by  it,  he  goes  out  on  the 
French  frigates,  what  will  you  do  ?  What  will  you 
do  if,  instead  of  the  French  frigates,  he  goes  in  a 
French  merchant  vessel  ?  In  fine,  if  instead  of  doin<r 
either,  he  should  sail  In  a  neutral  vessel,  an  American 
ship  for  instance,  what  will  you  do  ?  " 

Captain   Maitland   responded :    "  If   the    Emperor 


ROCHEFORT.  227 


goes  on  the  French  frigates,  I  will  attack  them  and 
take  them  if  I  can :  in  that  case  the  Emperor  will  bo 
a  prisoner.  If  he  goes  in  a  French  merchant  vessel, 
as  we  are  at  war,  I  will  take  the  vessel,  and  again  the 
Emperor  will  be  a  prisoner.  If  he  goes  in  a  neutral 
vessel,  and  I  search  it,  I  could  not  take  it  on  me  to 
let  him  pass.  I  should  hold  on  to  him  and  refer  the 
matter  to  my  Admiral,  who  would  decide  it." 

These  responses  once  made,  the  conversation  be- 
tween Napoleon's  two  envoys  and  the  English  sailor 
went  on  with  great  politeness.  "  The  Emperor,"  said 
the  latter,  "did  rightly  in  asking  for  passports,  in 
order  to  escape  the  disagreeable  encounters  which 
would  be  constantly  renewed  at  sea ;  bat  I  do  not 
believe  our  government  would  let  him  go  to  Amer- 
ica." "  Where  do  they  propose  that  he  should  go, 
then?"  asked  Savary.  "I  cannot  guess,"  replied 
Maitland ;  "  but  I  am  almost  certain  of  what  I  just 
told  you.  What  repugnance  would  he  have  against 
coming  to  England?  All  difficulties  could  be  obvi- 
ated in  that  way." 

To  the  objections  made  by  the  two  envoys  in  view 
of  the  English  climate  and  the  national  ill-will  toward 
Napoleon,  Captain  Maitland  replied  nearly  in  these 
terms:  "It  is  a  mistake  to  think  the  English  climate 
is  bad  and  damp.  There  are  counties  where  it  is  as 
mild  as  that  of  France  ;  Kent,  for  instance.  As  to  the 
charms  of  social  life,  they  are  incomparably  superior 
in  England  to  anything  the  Emperor  could  find  in 
America.     And  as  to  the  ill-feeling  which  he  might 


228  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

fear,  to  come  to  England  would  be  the  very  way  to 
extinguish  it.  Living  in  the  midst  of  the  nation  and 
under  the  protection  of  the  laws,  he  would  be  defended 
from  everybody  and  would  render  the  efforts  of  his 
enemies  powerless.  Even  if  the  Ministry  wished  to 
annoy  him,  which  I  do  not  believe,  they  could  not, 
because  our  government  is  not  arbitrary ;  it  is  sub- 
jected to  the  laws.  I  am  persuaded  that  the  govern- 
ment would  take  the  proper  measures  to  assure  the 
Emperor's  tranquillity  and  that  of  the  place  where  he 
should  reside ;  such,  for  example,  as  were  taken  with 
regard  to  his  brother  Lucien.  But  I  cannot  conceive 
it  possible  that  it  could  go  beyond  that ;  for,  as  I  have 
told  you,  the  Ministers  would  have  no  right,  and  the 
nation  would  not  allow  it." 

Las  Cases  replied :  "  I  am  not  empowered  to  treat 
that  question  with  you.  But  I  shall  remember  all 
you  have  said,  and  will  report  it  to  the  Emperor.  In 
case  he  should  adopt  the  idea  of  going  to  England,  — 
and  I  will  do  all  in  my  power  to  persuade  him,  —  may 
he  count  on  being  taken  on  board  your  vessel  with 
all  those  who  accompany  him,  this  supposition  debar- 
ring him  from  taking  passage  on  the  French  frigates?  " 

Captain  Maitland  answered:  "I  will  ask  instruc- 
tions from  my  Admiral.  But  if,  before  they  reach 
me.  the  Emperor  comes  and  asks  a  passage  on  board 
my  ship,  T  will  receive  him.  Moreover,  I  am  going 
into  the  roadstead  of  the  Basques,  where  I  shall  be 
nearer  you,  and  where  you  can  communicate  with  me 
whenever  you  please." 


HOVHEFORT.  229 


Las  Cases  and  Savary,  satisfied  with  Captain  Mait- 
land's  courteous  treatment,  but  not  building  many- 
hopes  on  British  generosity,  took  their  leave,  and, 
going  on  board  the  schooner  which  brought  them, 
returned  to  the  Emperor.  He  had  remained  on  board 
the  Saale  in  the  roadstead  of  the  Island  of  Aix.  He 
meditated  all  the  evening  on  the  report  they  brought 
him. 

Tuesday,  July  11.  In  the  night  of  July  10-11, 
Napoleon  ordered  Savary  to  go  and  tell  Captain 
Philibert,  commander  of  the  Saale,  to  sail  at  once. 
The  latter  replied  that  he  had  secret  orders:  he  was 
forbidden  to  accomplish  his  mission,  "if  the  frigates 
ran  into  any  danger."  "So  then,"  exclaimed  Savary, 
"  all  this  was  a  mere  deception  ;  the  only  aim  of  the 
Provisional  Government  was  to  place  the  Emperor 
under  the  necessity  of  delivering  himself  to  the 
enemy!"  "I  do  not  know,"  replied  Captain  Phili- 
bert, "  but  I  have  orders  not  to  sail."  Savary,  in 
consternation,  brought  this  answer  to  Napoleon. 
"My  presentiments  warned  me  of  it,"  said  the  Em- 
peror, sadly,  "and  yet  I  was  unwilling  to  believe  it." 

Then  Captain  Ponee,  who  commanded  the  other 
French  frigate,  the  JfeJuse,  made  a  heroic  proposi- 
tion. He  offered  to  weigh  anchor  at  sunset,  when 
there  was  usually  a  favorable  breeze,  and  attack  the 
Bellerophon,  remaining  attached  to  her  side,  until, 
even  at  the  sacrifice  of  the  Meduse,  he  should  have 
made  it  impossible  for  her  to  move.  Meantime,  the 
Saale,  with    the    Emperor   on   board,  could   gain  the 


230  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

open  sea.  Napoleon,  profoundly  moved  by  such 
devotion,  declined  this  offer,  which  the  dispositions 
of  Captain  Philibert  made  impracticable  in  any  case. 
He  had  no  longer  anything  to  hope  for  from  the 
two  French  frigates,  the  Meduse  and  the  Saale. 

Wednesday,  July  12.  Napoleon  received  a  visit 
from  his  brother  Joseph,  and  letters  announcing  the 
events  at  Paris.  There  was  more  to  be  feared  from 
the  victorious  emigre's  than  from  the  English  them- 
selves. Departure  had  become  indispensable.  Of 
all  solutions,  that  of  falling  alive  into  the  hands  of 
the  Royalists  would  be  the  worst.  They  would  not 
pardon  the  Emperor  the  fright  they  had  experienced 
during  the  Hundred  Days.  The  moment  that  he 
could  hope  nothing  farther  from  the  two  French 
frigates,  Napoleon  left  the  Saale,  and  had  himself 
put  ashore  on  the  Island  of  Aix,  where  a  regiment 
of  naval  infantry  were  constantly  in  garrison.  He 
was  received  there  with  enthusiasm.  Still,  it  was 
necessary  to  decide  on  something.  To  go  up  the 
Seuclre  in  a  boat,  and  cross  the  tongue  of  land  sepa- 
rating the  Charcnte  from  the  Gironde  on  horseback, 
in  order  to  embark  on  an  American  vessel  at  the 
mouth  of  the  latter  stream,  was  no  longer  practica- 
ble ;  for,  since  the  last  news  from  Paris,  the  white 
flag  was  floating  everywhere,  and  the  Royalist  popu- 
lation would  prevent  his  embarkation.  Besides,  the 
winds  were  still  unfavorable. 

Thursday,  July  13.  Despairing  of  his  cause,  Na- 
poleon, who  at  bottom   had  no  confidence  in  British 


ROCIIEFORT.  231 


generosity,  was  tempted  to  accept  the  offer  of  two 
coasting-vessels.  The  intrepid  midshipmen  said  to 
him :  "  Sire,  we  are  resolute  men  ;  confide  yourself 
to  us.  By  oars  or  by  sail  we  will  take  the  boats 
beyond  the  channels ;  after  that  Ave  will  trust  our- 
selves to  the  winds.  They  may  bring  us  into  the 
way  of  some  merchant  vessel  which  we  will  seize, 
and  which  we  will  oblige  to  transport  Your  Majesty 
to  the  United  States.  Under  cover  of  the  night, 
and  with  our  oars,  we  can  slip  out  unperceived." 
Napoleon  was  going  to  allow  himself  to  be  persuaded. 
In  the  evening  of  July  13,  the  two  coasters  were 
brought  to  the  anchorage  of  Aix.  Already  several 
of  the  Emperor's  attendants  had  entered  it,  when 
suddenly  those  who  were  about  to  start,  and  still 
more  those  who  were  to  be  left  behind,  broke  into  an 
indescribable  explosion  of  grief.  The  women  sobbed. 
Napoleon  could  not  endure  this  spectacle.  "  Well !  " 
he  cried,  "let  us  be  done  with  it  and  give  ourselves 
up  to  the  English,  since  after  all  Ave  cannot  in  any 
way  escape  them/'  And  he  thanked  the  brave  young 
men.  whose  devotion  and  enthusiasm  had  profoundly 
touched  him. 

Friday,  July  11.  So  this  man.  of  whom  one  could 
have  said  that  the  Avhole  world  Avas  not  enough  for 
him  (JKstuat  hifdir  angusto  in  careers  mundi),  this 
conqueror  who  had  not  treated  with  Europe  to  pre- 
serve the  Hanseatic  Towns,  the  modern  Ca-sar,  the 
new  Charlemagne,  the  Emperor  of  the  French,  the 
Kinjr  of  Italy,  the  mediator  of   the  Swiss  Confedera 


232  ELBA,   AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

tion,  the  protector  of  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine, 
now  banned,  proscribed,  tracked  like  a  wild  beast, 
chased  from  the  earth  and  from  the  sea,  had  no 
longer  a  stone  on  which  to  lay  his  head ! 

In  the  morning  of  July  14,  the  Emperor  once  more 
sent  Count  de  Las  Cases  on  board  the  Bellerophon, 
accompanied  this  time  by  General  Lallemand.  The 
two  envoys  asked  Captain  Maitland  if  he  had  re- 
ceived yet  any  response  from  his  superior,  Admiral 
Hotham,  chief  of  the  naval  station.  He  replied  in 
the  negative,  but  declared  that  he  was,  nevertheless, 
ready  to  receive  the  Emperor  on  the  Bellerophon, 
and  take  him  to  England.  "  It  is  my  private  opin- 
ion," added  he,  "  that  Napoleon  Avill  find  there  all 
the  respect  and  good  treatment  which  he  can  desire. 
It  is  a  country  where  the  Prince  and  the  Ministers  do 
not  exercise  arbitrary  authority.  The  English  peo- 
ple have  a  generosity  of  sentiment  and  a  liberality  of 
opinion  which  are  superior  to  sovereignty  itself." 
Captain  Maitland,  however,  spoke  for  himself  only, 
and  made  no  engagement  on  behalf  of  the  British 
government,  whose  official  intentions  he  did  not 
know.  At  this  time  the  Bellerophon  was  rejoined  by 
the  English  corvette,  the  Slany,  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain Sertorius. 

Las  Cases  and  General  Lallemand  returned  the 
same  day  to  the  Island  of  Aix,  and  repeated  to  the 
Emperor  what  Captain  Maitland  had  said.  Evi- 
dently there  was  only  one  of  two  things  for  him  to 
do  :  to  deliver  himself  up  to  the  English,  or  to  at- 


ROCIIEFORT.  233 


tempt  to  rejoin  the  Army  of  the  Loire  in  order  to 
begin  a  civil  war,  without  the  least  chance  of  success. 
Napoleon  caused  all  those  who  had  accompanied  him 
to  be  summoned,  and  asked  their  opinion.  They 
were  almost  unanimous  in  saying  that  he  ought  to 
confide  himself  to  England.  Then  the  Emperor 
said  :  "  If  it  were  a  question  of  marching  to  the  con- 
quest of  an  empire,  or  of  saving  one,  I  might  attempt 
a  return  to  the  Island  of  Elba  :  but  I  desire  nothing 
but  repose.  And  if  I  were  again  the  cause  of  even  a 
single  discharge  of  cannon,  spite  would  proiit  by  the 
circumstance  to  destroy  me.  I  am  offered  repose  in 
England.  I  do  not  know  the  Prince  llegent,  but 
from  what  I  have  been  told,  I  cannot  distrust  the 
loyalty  of  his  character.  My  decision  is  made.  I 
am  going  to  write  to  him  ;  and  to-morrow,  at  day- 
break, we  will  go  on  board  the  English  vessel." 

All  retired  to  make  their  preparations  for  de- 
parture. It  was  then  Napoleon  wrote  to  the  Prince 
llegent  of  England  the  letter  which  will  be  famous 
for  all  time  :  — 

"IlOYAL  Highness:  Exposed  to  the  factions 
which  divide  my  country,  and  to  the  enmity  of  the 
greatest  European  Powers,  I  have  ended  my  political 
career,  and  am  going,  like  Themistocles,  to  sit  down 
beside  the  hearths  of  the  British  people.  I  place  my- 
self under  the  protection  of  their  laws,  which  I  claim 
from  Your  Royal  Highness,  as  the  most  powerful, 
the  most  constant,  and  the  most  generous  of  my 
enemies." 


234  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

General  Gourgaud  was  charged  with  carrying  the 
memorable  letter  to  the  Prince  Regent,  and  received 
the  following  instructions :  — 

"  My  aide-de-camp  Gourgaud  will  present  himself 
on  board  the  English  squadron  with  Count  de  Las 
Cases.  According  to  the  instructions  he  receives 
from  the  commander  of  this  squadron,  he  will  go 
either  to  the  admiral  or  to  London.  He  will  try  to 
obtain  an  audience  of  the  Prince  Regent,  and  deliver 
my  letter  to  him.  If  there  is  no  inconvenience  in 
giving  me  passports  to  the  United  States  of  America, 
that  is  what  I  desire  ;  but  I  do  not  want  them  to  go 
to  any  colony.  If  America  is  impossible,  I  prefer 
England  to  any  other  country.  I  will  assume  the 
title  of  Colonel  Muiron  or  Duroc.  If  I  am  to  go  to 
England,  I  would  like  to  live  in  a  country  house,  ten 
or  twelve  leagues  from  London,  where  I  am  anxious 
to  arrive  in  the  strictest  possible  disguise.  The 
house  should  be  large  enough  to  accommodate  all 
my  servants.  I  am  desirous  to  avoid  London,  and  in 
this  the  government  would  doubtless  agree  with  me. 
If  the  Ministry  desire  to  place  a  commissary  near 
me,  Gourgaud  will  take  care  that  this  shall  carry 
with  it  no  appearance  of  captivity,  and  that  he  shall 
be  a  man  whose  rank  and  character  cannot  possibly 
give  occasion  for  evil  thoughts.  If  Gourgaud  is  to 
go  to  the  admiral,  it  would  be  better  for  the  captain 
to  keep  him  on  board  until  he  can  be  sent  in  a  cor- 
vette, so  as  to  be  sure  to  reach  London  before  us. 

"  Napoleon. 

"island  of  Aix,  July  14,  1815." 


ROCHEFORT.  235 


Las  Cases,  accompanied  by  General  Gourgaud, 
started  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  for  the 
Bellerophon.  His  mission  was  to  announce  that  the 
Emperor  would  come  on  board  the  next  morning, 
and  to  give  Captain  Maitland  a  copy  of  Napoleon's 
letter  to  the  Prince  Regent.  This  letter,  worthy  of 
one  of  Plutarch's  heroes,  was  greatly  admired  by 
the  English  seaman,  who  allowed  two  other  captains 
to  take  copies  of  it,  under  the  seal  of  privacy  until 
it  should  be  made  public.  He  despatched  General 
Gourgaud  at  once  to  London  on  the  corvette  Slany. 
But  hardly  had  this  vessel  started,  when  Maitland, 
his  face  and  voice  greatly  altered,  exclaimed  : 
"  Count  de  Las  Cases,  I  have  been  tricked.  When 
I  am  treating  with  you,  when  I  am  depriving  myself 
of  a  corvette,  I  am  told  that  Napoleon  has  just  es- 
caped. That  will  put  me  in  a  frightful  predicament 
with  my  government." 

Las  Cases  gave  a  start.  What  would  he  not  have 
given  that  the  news  were  true  !  But  it  was  not. 
ki  At  what  hour  is  it  pretended  that  the  Emperor  got 
off  ? "  he  asked  Captain  Maitland.  "  At  noon.'' 
"  Reassure  yourself  ;  I  left  the  Emperor  at  the  Island 
of  Aix  this  afternoon,  at  four  o'clock."'  "  You  posi- 
tivelv  declare  that  to  me  ?  "     "  I  give  you  mv  word." 

Turning  to  some  officers  near  by,  Captain  Mait- 
land said  to  them  in  English :  "  The  news  must  be 
false.  Count  de  Las  Cases  is  too  calm.  He  looks 
too  honest,  and  besides,  he  has  just  given  me  his 
word  of  honor." 


236  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

Nothing  further  was  said  except  in  relation  to  the 
next  day.  "  Would  you  like  me  to  send  my  boats 
for  the  Emperor  ?  "  asked  Maitland.  "  No,"  returned 
Las  Cases.  "  The  separation  is  already  too  painful  to 
the  French  seamen.  We  must  leave  them  the  satisfac- 
tion of  guarding  the  Emperor  up  to  the  last  minute." 

Saturday,  July  15.  In  the  morning,  Napoleon  was 
beginning  to  dress  when  General  Beker  hurried  in  to 
announce  that  an  emissary  had  just  arrived  at  Roche- 
fort  commissioned  to  arrest  him.  There  was  not  a 
single  minute  to  lose.  At  daybreak,  Napoleon,  at  last 
making  up  his  mind  to  go,  went  down  to  the  shore, 
and  after  receiving  the  sad  farewells  of  a  pitying 
throng,  embarked  with  his  companions  in  the  vessels 
which  took  them  to  the  brig  Epervier,  whence  they 
were  to  go  on  board  the  Seller ophon. 

Before  entering  the  Epervier  the  Emperor  bade 
adieu  to  General  Beker,  for  whom  he  had  only  words 
of  praise,  and  who  wept.  "  General,"  said  he,  "  I  thank 
you  for  your  noble  and  delicate  conduct.  Why  did 
I  know  you  so  late  ?  You  ought  never  to  have  left 
my  person.  Be  happy,  and  transmit  to  France  the 
expression  of  my  good  wishes."  The  General  begged 
to  be  allowed  to  go  with  him  as  far  as  the  Bellerophon. 
"No,"  replied  the  Emperor.  "I  do  not  know  what 
the  English  have  in  store  for  me;  but  if  they  betray 
my  confidence,  it  will  be  said  that  you  delivered  me 
to  my  enemies." 

Profiting  by  the  low  tide  to  get  out  of  the  road- 
stead of  Aix  and  into  that  of  the  Basques,  where  the 


ROCHEFORT. 


Bellerophon  lay  at  anchor,  Napoleon  reached  the  ship 
with  difficulty,  because  the  weather  was  too  calm. 
Captain  Maitland,  full  of  impatience,  was  sweeping 
the  horizon  with  his  glass  to  see  whether  the  illus- 
trious captive  was  approaching.  He  sent  a  yawl  to 
meet  him,  and  the  Emperor  got  into  it  from  the  brig 
JEJpervier.  From  that  moment  he  ceased  to  be  a  free 
man ;  he  became  the  prisoner  of  his  most  implacable 
enemies.  On  board  the  Epervier  there  was  a  pro- 
longed groaning,  broken  by  cries  of  "Long  live  the 
Emperor ! "  All  the  sailors  wept,  and  kept  their 
eyes  fixed  on  the  great  man  who  was  boarding  the 
Bellerophon. 


XIV. 


THE    BELLEKOPHON. 


WHEN  the  Emperor  came  aboard  the  Bellero- 
phon,  Las  Cases,  who  was  at  the  ladder,  pre- 
sented Captain  Maitland.  Napoleon,  raising  his  hat, 
said  in  a  firm  voice,  "  I  come  on  board  your  ship  to 
put  myself  under  the  protection  of  the  laws  of  Eng- 
land." Captain  Maitland,  after  having  introduced  his 
officers,  conducted  the  Emperor  to  his  cabin,  of  which 
he  put  him  in  possession.  The  Emperor  was  accom- 
panied by  Generals  Bertrand,  Savary,  Lallemand,  and 
Montholon,  Count  de  Las  Cases  and  his  son,  and  the 
Countesses  Bertrand  and  Montholon.  The  first  of 
these  ladies  had  three  children  with  her ;  the  second 
had  one.  To  these  must  be  added  nine  officers  of 
inferior  rank  and  thirty-nine  domestics.  The  princi- 
pal personages  Avere  received  on  the  Bellerophon,  the 
others  on  the  corvette  Myrmidon,  commanded  by 
Captain  Gambier. 

Toward    three    in    the    afternoon    the    Superb,   a 

seventy-four-gun   ship,  commanded  by  Admiral  Ho- 

tham,  entered  the  anchorage.     It  had  come  from  the 

roadstead    of    Quiberon   into    that   of    the    Basques. 

238 


THE  BELLEROPHON.  239 

The  Admiral  visited  the  Emperor  on  board  the  Bel- 
lerophon,  and  begged  that  he  would  honor  him  by 
breakfasting  on  the  Superb  the  following  day  with  all 
his  suite.     Napoleon  accepted. 

Sunday,  July  16,  1815.  Let  us  leave  the  account 
to  Las  Cases :  "  As  he  started,  in  the  morning,  to 
go  on  board  Admiral  Hotham's  ship,  the  Emperor 
stopped  short  on  the  bridge  of  the  Bellerophon  before 
the  soldiers  drawn  up  in  his  honor.  Tie  made  them 
go  through  their  drill  several  times,  and  as  their 
manner  of  charging  bayonets  was  not  precisely  like 
that  of  the  French,  he  went  quickly  into  the  midst  of 
the  soldiers,  pushing  aside  their  bayonets  with  his 
two  hands,  and  seized  a  musket  from  one  in  the  rear 
rank,  with  which  he  performed  the  evolution  himself 
in  our  fashion.  A  sudden  change  of  expression 
appeared  on  the  faces  of  the  soldiers,  the  officers,  and 
all  the  spectators  :  it  expressed  their  astonishment  at 
seeing  the  Emperor  place  himself  thus  in  the  midst 
of  English  bayonets,  some  of  which  touched  his 
breast.  This  circumstance  made  a  vivid  impression." 
Napoleon  drilling  English  soldiers  on  board  the  Bel- 
lerophon  —  would  not  that  be  a  good  subject  for  a 
military  picture? 

Afterwards,  the  Emperor  went  on  board  the  Superb. 
The  ship  was  in  full  dress.  The  bridge  was  covered 
with  a  richly  decorated  tent  canopied  witli  the  Eng- 
lish standard.  Ordinary  labors  on  the  vessel  were 
intermitted.  A  fine  band  was  playing  on  the  poop. 
The  sailors  in  uniform  were  on  the  yards.     Admiral 


'240  ELBA,   AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 


Hotham  presented  each  of  his  officers  by  name  to  the 
Emperor.  This  ceremony  over,  he  showed  him  the 
batteries  and  then  offered  him  an  extremely  well- 
served  breakfast.  Afterwards  he  proposed  to  him  to 
remain  on  the  Superb,  which  was  larger  and  more 
commodious  than  the  Bellerophon.  Napoleon  refused 
this  offer  out  of  good  feeling,  not  wishing  to  pain 
Captain  Maitland,  whose  kindness  he  appreciated  :  he 
returned  the  same  day  to  the  Bellerophon. 

Monday,  July  17.  The  Bellerophon  and  the  cor- 
vette Myrmidon  weighed  anchor  and  made  sail  for 
England.  The  winds  were  poor,  and  they  did  not 
lose  sight  of  land. 

Tuesday,  July  18,  to  Saturday,  July  22.  The 
voyage  was  slow.  It  was  with  difficulty  that  they 
got  into  the  English  Channel  in  going  up  the  French 
coast.  Napoleon  appeared  gentle  and  affable.  His 
calmness  and  the  equability  of  his  temper  gained 
the  approbation  of  everybody.  He  used  to  stay  on 
deck  for  the  greater  part  of  the  day,  conversing  at 
length  with  Captain  Maitland,  seizing  occasions  to 
say  agreeable  things,  and  talking  of  the  English  navy, 
whose  skill  lie  admired,  and  the  English  army,  whose 
rare  steadfastness  he  praised.  He  spoke  also,  and 
with  great  affection,  of  his  wife  and  son,  complaining 
of  his  separation  from  them ;  he  showed  their  por- 
traits to  Captain  Maitland,  with  tears  in  his  eyes. 
His  health  was  good,  but  he  was  subject  to  drowsi- 
ness. Captain,  officers,  and  crew  had  all  speedily 
adopted  toward  him   the    same    manners   that  were 


THE  BELLEROPHON.  241 

observed  by  his  suite ;  the  same  deference,  the  same 
language,  the  same  respect.  The  Captain  always  ad- 
dressed him  as  Sire  or  Majesty.  Whenever  he  came 
on  the  bridge,  every  one  removed  his  hat.  No  one 
was  admitted  to  his  table  except  at  his  invitation. 

Sunday,  July  23.  Toward  four  in  the  morning 
they  sighted  Ushant,  which  had  been  passed  during 
the  night.  More  than  once  the  Emperor  glanced 
sadly  toward  the  coast  of  France,  but  he  did  not  say 
a  word.  As  they  approached  the  Channel,  English 
vessels  were  seen  coming  and  going  in  all  directions. 
By  night  England  was  in  sight. 

Monday,  July  24.  Toward  eight  in  the  morning 
they  weighed  anchor  in  the  roadstead  of  Torbay. 
Alas !  it  was  not  thus  that,  in  the  time  when  he 
camped  at  Boulogne,  Napoleon  had  hoped  to  descend 
on  the  English  coast !  From  the  poop  of  the  Bel- 
Irrophon  he  looked  at  the  shore  and  the  anchorage  of 
the  vessel.  On  entering  the  roadstead,  which  is  very 
picturesque,  "This  reminds  me,"  said  he,  "of  Porto- 
Ferrajo  and  the  Island  of  Elba."  Very  soon  after- 
wards. General  Gourgaud  presented  himself.  He 
had  left  Aix  on  the  corvette  Slany,  to  carry  a  letter 
to  the  Prince  Regent,  but  had  not  been  able  to  dis- 
charge the  commission:  he  had  been  obliged  to  give 
up  the  letter,  and  was  not  even  permitted  to  land. 
This  was  a  bad  omen. 

Napoleon  did  not  go  ashore.  He  remained  on 
board  the  Bellerophon  in  the  road  of  Torbay.  The 
ship  had  scarcely  cast  anchor  when  Captain  Maitland 


242  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

received  despatches  from  Lord  Keith,  Admiral  of  the 
Channel  fleet,  and  shortly  after  from  the  Board  of 
Admiralty,  which  enjoined  him  not  to  permit  any  one, 
no  matter  of  what  rank  or  station,  to  be  on  board  the 
Bellerophon,  excepting  the  officers  and  sailors  com- 
posing its  crew.  As  soon  as  the  Emperor's  presence 
in  the  bay  was  made  known,  a  crowd  of  small  boats 
filled  with  curious  people  began  to  make  their  appear- 
ance. 

Tuesday,  July  25.  Napoleon  was  struck  with  the 
multitude  of  persons  in  boats  crowding  about  the  ship 
in  the  hope  of  getting  sight  of  him.  He  looked  at 
them  from  his  cabin,  and  sometimes  went  out  on  the 
bridge.  No  one  suspected,  as  yet,  the  sorrowful  fate 
which  awaited  the  great  man.  Captain  Maitland 
received  a  letter  from  Lord  Keith,  in  which  the  fol- 
lowing passage  occurs :  "  Say  to  the  Emperor  that  I 
should  be  glad  if  he  would  let  me  know  what  would 
be  agreeable  to  him ;  I  would  willingly  attend  to  it. 
Thank  him  on  my  behalf  for  the  generous  attentions 
he  himself  gave  to  my  nephew,  who  was  taken  to  him 
a  prisoner  after  being  wounded  at  Waterloo." 

Wednesday,  July  26.  During  the  night  of  July 
25-26,  the  Bellerophon  received  orders  to  leave  Tor- 
bay  for  Plymouth.  Having  weighed  anchor  very 
early,  they  arrived  in  the  roadstead  of  that  city  at 
about  four  in  the  afternoon.  Sinister  presentiments 
began  to  circulate.  Armed  boats  surrounded  the 
ship,  which  was  not  visited  by  Admiral  Keith,  al- 
though  he  was  in   the  bay.     At  the  moment  when 


THE  BELLEliOPHON.  243 

two  English  frigates  cast  anchor,  one  on  either  side 
of  the  Bdleroplion,  some  one  said  in  a  whisper  to 
Las  Cases :  "  You  see  these  frigates  ?  In  the  night 
they  will  carry  off  the  Emperor  and  you,  and  sail 
for  Saint  Helena." 

Listen  to  this  faithful  courtier  of  misfortune  : 
"  No,  never,"  he  exclaims,  "  can  I  render  the  effect 
of  these  terrible  words !  A  cold  sweat  broke  out  on 
my  body ;  it  was  an  unexpected  sentence  of  death. 
Pitiless  executioners  had  seized  me  for  the  torture  ; 
I  was  to  be  torn  violently  from  all  that  attached  me 
to  life  ;  sadly  I  extended  my  arms  to  all  I  held  dear; 
it  was  in  vain ;  perish  I  must.  This  thought  and  an 
unruly  crowd  of  others  raised  a  veritable  tempest  in 
me  :  it  was  the  laceration  of  a  soul  seeking  to  free 
itself  from  its  terrestrial  alloy !  It  whitened  my 
hair.  .  .  .  Happily  the  crisis  was  brief,  and  my  soul 
came  out  victorious,  —  so  entirely  victorious  that, 
from  that  moment,  I  felt  myself  superior  to  all  that 
men  could  do.  I  felt  that  thereafter  I  could  defy 
injustice,  ill-treatment,  torture.  I  swore,  above  all, 
that  no  one  should  ever  hear  from  me  either  com- 
plaints or  petitions.  But  let  not  those  among  us,  to 
whom  I  must  have  seemed  tranquil  in  these  fatal 
circumstances,  accuse  me  of  a  want  of  feeling ! 
Their  agony  was  prolonged  and  in  detail;  mine  came 
all  at  once." 

As  usual,  the  Emperor  made  his  appearance  on 
the  bridge.  His  face  betrayed  neither  emotion  nor 
uneasiness. 


244  ELBA,    AND    THE  HUNDRED   DAYS. 

Thursday,  July  27.  Again  we  leave  the  word  to 
Las  Cases :  "  It  would  be  difficult  to  describe,"  he 
says,  "  our  anxieties  and  torments  :  the  greater  num- 
ber of  us  seemed  hardly  to  be  living ;  the  least  cir- 
cumstance from  land,  the  most  commonplace  opinion 
of  any  one  on  board,  the  least  authentic  article,  sup- 
plied us  with  subjects  for  the  gravest  arguments  and 
caused  continual  oscillations  between  hope  and  fear. 
We  sought  to  get  favorable  versions  and  deceitful 
anticipations  from  any  one  whatever,  so  little  do  the 
expansion  and  mobility  of  our  national  character 
incline  us  to  that  stoical  resignation  and  impassible 
concentration  which  flow  only  from  settled  ideas  and 
positive  doctrine  imbibed  in  childhood. 

"  The  public  journals,  the  ministerial  ones  espe- 
cially, were  let  loose  against  us ;  it  was  the  halloo  of 
the  ministers  preparing  for  the  blow  they  meant  to 
strike.  It  would  not  be  easy  to  get  an  idea  of  the 
horrors,  the  lies,  the  imprecations,  which  piled  up 
against  us ;  and  it  is  well  known  that  such  things 
make  an  impression  on  the  multitude,  no  matter  how 
well  disposed  they  may  be.  Hence  the  manners  of 
those  around  us  began  to  stiffen,  their  politeness 
seemed  embarrassed,  and  their  faces  dubious." 

The  Emperor  maintained  an  imperturbable  tran- 
quillity. His  presence  in  the  I J  ay  of  Plymouth  pro- 
duced a  prodigious  effect.  lie  was  going  to  excite 
throughout  all  England  i  sentiment  of  curiosity 
which  amounted  to  frenzy.  People  came  in  crowds, 
as  if  on  a  pilgrimage,  in  the   hope   of  seeing  for  an 


THE  UELLEROPHOy.  245 


instant  the  features  of  the  legendary  man.  There 
were  not  horses  enough  on  the  road,  between  London 
and  Plymouth,  so  great  was  the  throng  of  travellers 
who  wanted  to  be  able  to  say  one  day  to  their  chil- 
dren :  "  I  have  seen  Xapoleon  !  " 

Friday,  July  28.  As  he  beheld  the  innumerable 
boats  which  pressed  around  the  Belleroplion,  the  Em- 
peror, in  the  very  midst  of  his  misfortunes,  had  an 
intuition  of  his  future  glory.  He  perceived  that  his 
adversity,  like  his  former  power,  would  assume  epic 
proportions,  and  that  all  poets  would  celebrate  him. 

Listen  to  a  Frenchman,  Count  de  Las  Cases,  and 
to  an  Englishman,  Walter  Scott,  who  both  describe 
this  eager  thronging  of  the  English  people  about  the 
glorious  captive. 

'•It  was  known,'' says  Las  Cases,  "that  the  Em- 
peror always  came  out  on  the  bridge  toward  five 
o'clock.  Some  time  beforehand  the  boats  began  to 
close  in  beside  each  other.  There  were  thousands  of 
them,  and  so  close  together  that  not  a  glimpse  could 
be  caught  of  the  sea:  one  might  rather  have  believed 
that  this  crowd  of  spectators  had  assembled  in  some 
public  square.  On  the  appearance  of  the  Emperor, 
the  noises,  the  movements,  the  gestures,  of  so  many 
people  presented  a  singular  spectacle.  At  the  same 
time  it  was  easy  to  see  that  there  was  nothing  hostile 
in  all  this;  if  curiosity  had  brought  them,  interest 
would  accompany  them  home.  One  could  even  see 
that  this  sentiment  visibly  increased.  At  first  they 
were  content  to  look;  afterwards  they  saluted;  some 


246  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

kept  their  hats  off;  and  sometimes  they  cheered. 
Even  our  emblems  began  to  make  their  appearance : 
women  and  young  men  would  arrive  adorned  with 
carnations." 

And  now  hear  Walter  Scott :  "  That  popular  curi- 
osity, bordering  on  fury,  which  prevails  in  all  free 
states,  but  which  seems  carried  to  the  greatest  excess 
by  the  English  nation,  caused  the  sea  around  the 
Bellerophon  to  be  covered  with  such  a  multitude  of 
barks  that  in  spite  of  the  peremptory  orders  of  the 
Admiralty  and  the  efforts  of  the  coast-guard  vessels, 
it  was  almost  impossible  to  keep  them  at  the  pre- 
scribed distance  from  the  vessel,  which  was  a  cable's 
length.  The  persons  on  these  boats  ran  the  risk  of 
sinking  and  of  being  killed  (at  least  they  might  fear 
it,  for  several  shots  were  fired  to  intimidate  them) : 
they  exposed  themselves,  in  a  word,  to  all  the  dan- 
gers of  a  naval  combat,  rather  than  lose  the  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  the  Emperor,  of  whom  they  had  so 
often  heard.  When  lie  appeared,  he  was  received 
with  acclamations,  to  which  he  responded  by  salutes ; 
but  he  could  not  avoid  displaying  his  surprise  at  the 
excess  of  a  curiosity  which  he  had  never  seen  mani- 
fest itself  with  so  much  vivacity." 

Saturday,  July  29.  The  crowd  of  curious  specta- 
tors was  even  greater  than  on  the  previous  day. 
Thousands  of  small  crafts  surrounded  the  Bellerophon 
and  passed  hours  in  the  roadstead,  running  against 
each  other  and  exposed  to  grave  dangers. 

Sunday,  July  30.     One  of  the  under-secretaries  of 


THE  BELLEEOPHON.  247 

State,  Sir  Henry  Bunbury,  arrived  from  London. 
He  brought  the  definite  resolutions  of  the  English 
government. 

Monday,  July  31.  Lord  Keith  and  Sir  Henry 
Bunbury  came  on  board  the  Bellerophon,  and,  in  the 
name  of  the  English  Ministry,  acquainted  Napoleon 
with  the  following  communication  :  — 

"As  it  may  be  agreeable  to  General  Buonaparte 
to  learn,  without  further  delay,  the  intentions  of 
the  British  Government  in  his  case,  Your  Lordship 
will  communicate  the  subjoined  information  to  him: 
It  would  be  little  in  conformity  with  our  duties 
towards  our  country  and  the  Allied  Powers,  for  us 
to  leave  General  Buonaparte  the  means  or  the  oppor- 
tunity to  trouble  again  the  peace  of  Europe.  This  is 
why  it  becomes  absolutely  necessary  that  he  should 
be  restrained  in  his  personal  liberty,  so  far  as  this 
first  and  important  object  may  require.  The  Island 
of  Saint  Helena  has  been  selected  for  his  future 
residence.  Its  climate  is  healthy,  and  its  situation 
will  permit  of  his  being  treated  with  more  indulgence 
than  could  be  shown  elsewhere,  in  view  of  the  in- 
dispensable precaution  which  would  be  necessary  to 
secure  his  person.  General  Buonaparte  is  permitted 
to  choose  among  those  who  accompanied  him  to  Eng- 
land, with  the  exception  of  Generals  Savary  and 
Lallemand,  three  officers  who,  together  with  his  sur- 
geon, will  be  permitted  to  accompany  him  to  Saint 
Helena, and  cannot  leave  the  island  without  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  British  Government.     Rear-Admiral  Sir 


248  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

George  Cockburn,  who  is  named  commander-in-chief 
of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  the  adjacent  seas, 
will  conduct  General  Buonaparte  and  his  suite  to 
Saint  Helena,  and  will  receive  detailed  instructions 
concerning  the  execution  of  the  service.  Sir  George 
Cockburn  will  probably  be  ready  to  start  in  a  few 
days ;  for  this  reason  it  is  desirable  that  General 
Buonaparte  should,  without  delay,  make  choice  of 
the  persons  who  are  to  accompany  him." 

This  painful  document  was  read  aloud  in  French 
by  Sir  Henry  Bunbury.  Napoleon  listened  to  it 
without  any  sign  of  emotion  or  impatience.  When 
it  was  ended,  he  was  asked,  like  a  condemned  man 
to  whom  his  sentence  has  just  been  read,  whether 
he  had  any  observations  to  make.  Then  he  began 
to  speak  quietly,  declaring,  with  great  coolness, 
that  he  protested  solemnly  against  the  orders  just 
read;  that  the  English  Ministry  had  no  right  to 
dispose  in  this  way  of  his  person ;  that  he  appealed 
to  the  nation  and  the  laws,  and  asked  to  what  tri- 
bunal he  should  carry  this  appeal.  "I  came,"  said 
he,  "to  confide  myself  voluntarily  to  the  hospitality 
of  your  nation.  I  am  not  a  prisoner  of  war;  and 
even  if  I  were,  I  should  have  a  right  to  be  treated 
according  to  the  law  of  nations.  I  came  as  a  passen- 
ger on  one  of  your  vessels,  after  preliminary  negoti- 
ations with  its  commander.  If  he  had  told  me  I 
would  be  made  a  prisoner,  I  should  not  have  come. 
I  asked  him  if  he  would  receive  me  on  board  and 
carry  me  to  England.     He  answered  yes,  having  re- 


THE  JSELLEROPHON.  249 

ceived,  or  pretending  to  have  received,  precise  orders 
from  his  government.  Was  it  then  a  trap  you  were 
laying  for  me?  I  went  aboard  an  English  vessel  as 
I  would  have  entered  an  English  town :  a  vessel,  a 
village,  it  is  all  the  same  thing.  As  to  Saint  Helena, 
it  would  be  my  death  sentence.  ...  I  could  not 
live  there  three  months.  I  am  accustomed  to  walk 
twenty  miles  a  day.  What  would  become  of  me  on 
that  little  rock  at  the  end  of  the  world?  No;  Botany 
Bay  is  [(referable  to  Saint  Helena.  And  what  good 
would  my  death  do  you  ?  I  am  no  longer  a  sover- 
eign. What  danger  could  arise  from  my  living  as 
a  private  person  in  the  interior  of  England,  subject 
to  sucli  restrictions  as  the  government  should  deem 
suitable?" 

Lord  Keith  and  Sir  Henry  Bunbury  made  no  re- 
mark, save  to  call  the  Emperor's  attention  to  the  fact 
that  their  mission  was  solely  to  communicate  to  him 
the  document  to  which  he  had  just  listened. 

Napoleon  proceeded  without  interruption,  insisting 
on  his  preference  for  England  and  his  desire  to  in- 
trust himself  to  it  rather  than  to  any  other  nation. 
"Otherwise,"  said  he,  "why  should  I  not  have  gone 
to  my  father-in-law,  or  to  the  Emperor  Alexander, 
who  is  my  personal  friend?  We  fell  out  because  he 
wanted  to  annex  Poland,  and  my  popularity  with  the 
Poles  embarrassed  him.  But  in  other  respects  he  was 
my  friend,  and  lie  would  not  have  treated  me  in  this 
fashion.  If  your  government  acts  in  this  way,  it  will 
disgrace  you  in   the  eyes  of  Europe.      Your  people 


250  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

themselves  will  blame  it.  You  do  not  know,  more- 
over, what  a  sensation  my  death  would  cause,  both  in 
France  and  Italy.  At  present  they  have  a  high  opin- 
ion of  England  in  both  those  countries.  If  you  kill 
me,  that  opinion  will  be  destroyed,  and  many  English 
lives  will  pay  for  mine.  Who  could  have  forced  me 
to  the  step  I  took  ?  The  tricolor  was  still  floating  at 
Bordeaux,  Nantes,  and  Rochefort.  The  army  has 
not  even  yet  made  its  submission.  Very  well ;  if  I 
had  preferred  to  remain  in  France,  who  could  have 
prevented  me  from  remaining  concealed  there  for 
years  in  the  midst  of  a  people  so  attached  to  me  ?  " 

Then,  recalling  his  glory  and  past  splendors : 
"  Remember,"  said  he,  "  what  I  have  been  and  what 
place  I  have  taken  among  European  sovereigns. 
This  one  solicited  my  protection  ;  that  one  gave  me 
his  daughter ;  all  sought  for  my  friendship.  I  was 
recognized  as  Emperor  by  all  the  Powers  of  Europe, 
England  excepted,  and  that  recognized  me  as  First 
Consul.  Your  government  has  no  right  to  style  me 
General  Buonaparte.  I  am  either  Prince  or  Consul. 
I  should  be  treated  as  such,  and  not  otherwise. 
When  I  was  at  Elba,  I  was  as  much  a  sovereign  in 
that  island  as  Louis  XVIII.  was  in  France.  We  had 
our  respective  flags,  our  vessels,  and  our  troops. 
Mine  were  less  numerous,  it  is  true.  I  had  six 
hundred  men,  and  lie  had  two  hundred  thousand. 
Finally,  I  made  war  on  him.  I  was  defeated  and 
dethroned.  That  affords  no  excuse  for  depriving  me 
of  my  rank  as  a  European  sovereign." 


THE  BELLEROPIION.  251 

Napoleon  concluded  by  saying :  "  No !  no !  I  will 
not  go  to  Saint  Helena.  I  am  not  a  Hercules,  but 
you  will  not  take  me  there.  I  prefer  death  here, 
even.  You  found  me  free ;  send  me  back,  replace 
me  in  the  same  condition,  or  let  me  go  to  America." 

A  legitimist  historian,  M.  Alfred  Nettement,  thus 
appreciates  Napoleon's  remarks  :  "  Several  things  are 
to  be  considered  in  these  words  of  the  Emperor.  In 
the  first  place,  the  discernment,  the  calculation,  with 
which  he  prepares  the  role  he  wishes  to  play  in  his- 
tory. His  letter,  graven  in  marble  by  that  character 
of  antique  grandeur  which  he  knew  how  to  give  his 
style,  is  written  for  posterity,  who  will  read  it  over 
the  Regent's  shoulder.  In  reality,  the  Emperor  made 
use  in  an  inevitable  action  (for  he  had  been  the  pris- 
oner of  England  from  the  time  he  went  to  the  Island 
of  Aix)  of  that  supreme  art  which,  in  the  days  of  his 
power,  he  knew  how  to  impress  on  all  he  did;  like 
the  antique  gladiator,  he  draped  himself  when  fall- 
ing. Nor  is  this  all.  At  the  moment  when  he  loses 
his  sword  in  his  implacable  duel  with  England,  he 
recommences  by  speech  that  duel  which  he  will  con- 
tinue with  the  pen  on  the  rock  of  Saint  Helena,  in 
dedicating  England  to  the  execration  of  posterity. 
The  anathema,  to  which  he  will  add  each  day  a 
malediction  and  an  accusing  groan,  begins  on  the 
Bcllcroplwn.  Rut  what  is  most  instructive  and  finest 
in  his  words  is  that  tardy  appeal  to  law,  to  justice, 
and  to  equity,  an  appeal  full  of  lessons  in  the  mouth 
of  the  man  of  force  and  absolute  power." 


252  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

After  his  interview  with  Lord  Keith  and  Sir  Henry 
Bunbury,  Napoleon  showed  himself  as  usual  on  the 
bridge.  He  was  absolutely  calm.  But  despair  over- 
came his  unfortunate  companions.  Generals  Savary 
and  Lallemand,  excluded  from  the  amnesty  by  the 
government  of  Louis  XVIIL,  who  reserved  them  for 
punishment  like  Ney  and  Labedoyere,  interpreted  in 
the  most  sinister  way  the  refusal  to  allow  them  to 
accompany  the  Emperor  to  Saint  Helena.  They 
were  persuaded  that  England  would  deliver  them  to 
the  French  Royalists,  who  would  destroy  them. 

Tuesday,  August  1.  The  crowd  of  boats  which  fol- 
lowed each  other  continually  into  the  bay,  and  which 
never  numbered  less  than  a  thousand  at  a  time,  were 
held  with  difficulty  at  the  prescribed  distance  from 
the  Bellerophon,  by  the  vessels  ordered  to  prevent 
them,  by  force  if  necessary,  from  coming  nearer. 
This  multitude  alarmed  the  English  naval  authori- 
ties, especially  since  Napoleon  had  declared  lie  would 
not  go  to  Saint  Helena:  they  were  afraid  he  might 
try  to  escape.  Two  frigates  were  sent  to  watch  and 
protect  the  Bellerophon.  The  sentinels  were  doubled 
and  tripled  by  day  and  night. 

The  members  of  the  Emperor's  suite  observed  the 
same  etiquette  with  him  as  in  the  Tuileries.  Grand 
Marshal  Bertrand  and  General  Savary,  Duke  of  Ro- 
vigo,  alone  saw  him  habitually.  There  were  some 
who  had  hardly  approached  him  since  they  left  Paris, 
nor  spoken  to  him  more  frequently  than  if  he  were 
still  living  in  an  imperial  palace. 


THE  BELLEROPHON.  253 

In  t*he  evening,  M.  de  Las  Cases  was  translating 
the  English  newspapers  to  Napoleon  when  General 
Bertrand's  wife,  without  having  been  summoned,  and 
without  having  herself  announced,  suddenly  rushed 
into  the  Emperor's  cabin.  She  was  beside  herself. 
"Sire,"  she  cried,  "do  not  go  to  Saint  Helena.  Do 
not  take  away  my  husband."  Napoleon's  calmness 
troubled  her  still  more.  She  went  out  as  precipi- 
tately as  she  had  entered.  A  few  moments  later 
great  cries  were  heard  and  a  movement  of  the  crew, 
who  were  running  noisily  toward  the  stern  of  the 
ship.  Madame  Bertrand  had  tried  to  throw  herself 
overboard. 

Wednesday,  August  2.  M.  de  Las  Cases  learned 
that  Napoleon  had  chosen  him  as  one  of  his  compan- 
ions to  Saint  Helena.  The  Duke  of  Rovigo  repeated 
to  him  Napoleon's  kindly  words.  Las  Cases  says: 
"Savary  loved  the  Emperor  sincerely:  I  knew  his 
heart,  his  soul,  his  uprightness:  lie  seemed  to  me 
capable  of  true  friendship.  We  should,  doubtless, 
have  been  intimately  united.  May  he  never  under- 
stand the  sentiments  and  the  regrets  he  has  bequeathed 
me." 

Thursday.  August  3.  In  the  evening  the  Emperor 
caused  Las  ( !ases  to  be  summoned.  "  What  good  conld 
Saint  Helena  be?"  said  he.  "Would  it  be  possible 
to  support  life  there?  After  all,  is  it  certain  that  1 
shall  go?  Is  a  man  dependent  on  other  men  when 
he  chooses  not  to  be  so?  .  .  .  My  dear  fellow,  some- 
times I  long  to  leave  you.  and  it  would  not  be  diffi- 


254  ELBA,  AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

cult.  All  that  would  be  necessary  would  be  to  get  a 
little  excited  and  I  should  soon  escape.  All  would 
be  over,  and  you  could  quietly  rejoin  your  families." 

Doubtless  Napoleon  forgot  at  this  moment  that 
order  of  the  day  of  Flore*al  22,  Year  X.,  in  which  he 
had  said,  apropos  of  the  suicide  of  a  soldier  of  the 
Consular  Guard :  — 

"  The  First  Consul  decrees  that  it  shall  be  put  on 
the  regulations  of  the  Guard  that  a  soldier  ought  to 
know  how  to  subdue  the  suffering  and  the  melancholy 
of  the  passions ;  and  that  there  is  as  much  true  cour- 
age in  enduring  with  constancy  the  pains  of  the  soul 
as  remaining  steadfast  on  the  ramparts  of  a  fortress. 
To  abandon  one's  self  to  chagrin  without  resistance, 
to  kill  one's  self  in  order  to  get  rid  of  it,  is  to  quit 
the  field  of  battle  before  having  conquered." 

Las  Cases  vigorously  combated  the  idea  of  suicide 
which  seemed  to  tempt  the  Emperor.  He  developed 
in  eloquent  language  the  noblest  considerations. 
Poets  and  philosophers  had  declared  that  to  see  a 
man  struggling  with  misfortune  is  a  spectacle  worthy 
of  the  gods.  Reverses  and  steadfastness  have  alike 
their  glory ;  a  character  so  noble  and  grand  as  that  of 
Napoleon  could  not  lower  itself  to  the  level  of  the 
most  vulgar  souls ;  he  who  had  governed  with  so 
much  splendor,  who  had  been  admired  by  the  world 
and  controlled  its  destinies,  must  not  end  like  a 
despairing  gamester  or  a  deceived  lover.  What 
would  become  in  that  case  of  those  who  believed  and 
hoped  in   him?     Was  not  the  extreme  longing  dis- 


THE  BELLEltOPlION.  255 

played  by  such  persons  a  sufficient  motive  for  endur- 
ance ?  Moreover,  who  could  penetrate  into  the  secrets 
of  time  ?  Who  would  dare  affirm  anything  about 
the  future  ? 

Napoleon  replied :  "  Some  things  you  say  are  inter- 
esting. But  what  could  we  do  at  Saint  Helena,  that 
desolate  spot?"'  "  Sire,  we  would  live  in  the  past; 
there  is  enough  in  it  to  satisfy  us.  Do  we  not  enjoy 
the  lines  of  Caesar  and  Alexander?  We  shall  have 
something  better  still :  you  will  re-peruse  your  career, 
Sire."  "  Well,  yes  ;  you  are  right ;  we  will  write  our 
memoirs.  Yes,  we  must  get  to  work :  work  also  is 
the  scythe  of  time.  After  all,  we  must  fulfil  our 
destiny :  that  is  my  great  doctrine."  And  regaining 
from  that  moment  an  easy  and  even  cheerful  aspect, 
the  Emperor  turned  the  conversation  to  matters 
entirely  unconnected  with  his  existing  situation. 

Friday,  August  4.  In  the  night  of  August  3-4, 
the  captain  of  the  Bellerophon  received  orders  to  sail 
early  the  next  morning.  They  got  under  way  and 
sailed  eastward  up  the  Channel.  The  BelleropJion 
was  too  old  a  ship  for  such  a  voyage  as  that  to 
Saint  Helena,  and  besides  she  lacked  the  necessary 
stores.     They  were  to  rejoin  another  vessel. 

During  the  day  the  Emperor  wrote  the  following 
protest :  "  I  solemnly  protest  here,  before  Heaven  and 
men,  against  the  violation  of  my  most  sacred  rights 
and  the  use  of  force  in  disposing  of  my  person. 
I  came,  freely  on  board  the  Bellerophon ;  I  am  not 
the  prisoner,  but  the  guest,  of  England.     I  came  at 


256  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

the  instigation  of  the  captain,  who  said  he  had  orders 
to  receive  me  on  board  and  take  me  to  England  if 
that  were  agreeable  to  me.  I  presented  myself  in 
good  faith.  Seated  on  the  deck  of  the  Bellerophon, 
I  was  at  the  fireside  of  the  British  people.  If,  in 
giving  the  captain  of  the  Bellerophon  orders  to  receive 
me  and  my  suite,  the  government  intended  to  lay  an 
ambush  for  me,  it  has  forfeited  its  honor  and  tar- 
nished its  flag.  This  act  once  consummated,  it  will 
be  in  vain  for  the  English  to  boast  hereafter  of 
their  loyalty,  their  laws,  and  their  liberty.  British 
faith  will  have  perished  in  the  hospitality  of  the 
Bellerophon.  I  appeal  from  it  to  history ;  she  will 
say  that  an  enemy  who  had  fought  the  English 
people  for  twenty  years  went  of  his  own  accord, 
when  in  misfortune,  to  seek  asylum  under  the  pro- 
tection of  their  laws.  What  more  striking  proof 
could  he  have  given  of  his  esteem  and  confidence  ? 
But  how  did  the  English  respond  to  such  magna- 
nimity? They  pretended  to  extend  a  hospitable  hand 
to  this  enemy ;  and  when  he  had  taken  it  in  good 
faith,  they  immolated  him.  Napoleon. 

"  On  board  the  Bellerophon.     At  sea." 
What  struck  Chateaubriand  most  in  this  protest 
was  the  date   and    the    signature.     "  On    board   the 
Bellerophon,   at   sea.      Napoleon."     "These    are   the 
harmonies  of  immensity,"  says  the  prose-poet. 

In  going  out  of  Plymouth  the  Bellerophon  had  first 
steered  east  with  a  stern  breeze.  Presently  it  drew 
closer  to  the  wind,  hugging  the  shore  and  cruising 


THE  BELLEROPHON.  251 

about.  The  passengers  did  not  understand  the  object 
of  these  manoeuvres. 

Saturday,  August  5.  This  day  went  by  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  previous  one. 

Sunday,  August  6.  Toward  noon  the  Bellerophon 
anchored  in  the  roadstead  of  Start  Point,  where  it 
was  not  in  safety,  whereas  in  that  of  Torbay,  which 
was  very  near,  it  would  have  been  excellently  placed. 
It  was  very  soon  evident  why  it  did  not  go  to  Torbay. 
At  Start  Point  they  were  about  to  be  joined  by  the 
Northumberland,  which  was  to  convey  Napoleon  to 
Saint  Helena.  A  few  instants  later  this  vessel  ap- 
peared, and  also  two  frigates  crowded  with  troops 
destined  to  garrison  the  island.  The  ship  Thunderer 
also  came  up,  on  which  was  floating  the  ensign  of 
Lord  Keith,  the  ehief  admiral  of  the  naval  station. 
During  the  day  Lord  Keith  and  Sir  George  Cockburn 
came  aboard  the  Bellcrophon  and  remitted  to  the 
Emperor  a  copy  of  the  instructions  they  had  received. 
These  enjoined  that  on  the  following  day  Napoleon 
and  the  members  of  his  suite  should  be  disarmed,  their 
baggage  searched,  and  their  money  seized  and  held 
in  trust. 

The  Emperor  had  only  three  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  francs  in  gold,  and  the  diamond  necklace 
which  Queen  Hortense  had  forced  him  to  accept 
when  lie  left  Malmaison.  The  necklace  was  in- 
trusted to  Las  Cases,  who  concealed  it  about  his 
person.  As  to  the  gold,  it  was  divided  among  the 
domestics,  who  hid  it  in  their  clothing,  with  the  ex- 


258  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

ception  of  eighty  thousand  francs,  which  sum  was 
all  that  was  seized  on  by  the  custom  house  agent. 
Napoleon  selected  Bertrand,  Las  Cases,  and  Mon- 
tholon  to  accompany  him.  Gourgaud,  in  despair  at 
being  left  behind,  negotiated  and  succeeded.  The 
instructions  of  the  Admiralty  did  not  permit  the 
Emperor  to  take  more  than  three  officers.  It  was 
agreed  to  consider  Las  Cases  a  civilian,  and,  thanks 
to  this  interpretation,  Gourgaud  was  admitted  as  a 
fourth  person.  As  to  his  sword,  Napoleon  swore  to 
himself  that  if  they  wished  to  take  it  from  him,  they 
would  have  to  tear  it  away  by  force. 

Monday,  August  7.  The  moment  for  quitting  the 
JBellerophon  arrived.  Toward  eleven  in  the  morning 
Lord  Keith  came  in  his  long-boat.  At  one  o'clock 
Napoleon  made  known  that  he  was  ready ;  Lord 
Keith's  long-boat,  which  was  to  take  him  aboard  the 
Northumberland,  was  waiting  for  him.  He  embraced 
the  Duke  of  Rovigo,  who,  all  in  tears,  threw  himself 
at  his  feet  and  kissed  his  hands.  He  embraced  Gen- 
eral Lallemand  also:  "Be  happy,  my  friends,"  he 
said  to  them.  "  We  shall  never  see  each  other  again, 
but  my  thoughts  will  never  leave  you  nor  any  of 
those  who  have  served  me.  Tell  France  that  I  pray 
for  her."  When  he  crossed  the  quarter-deck  of  the 
Bellerophon,  the  soldiers  presented  arms  during  three 
rolls  of  the  drum.  His  step  was  firm  and  measured. 
He  bade  a  polite  and  even  friendly  farewell  to  Cap- 
tain Maitland,  who  was  as  greatly  moved  as  if  he 
had  been  French.     "  People  may  be  astonished,"  said 


THE  BELLER0P1I0N.  259 


this  brave  seaman  afterwards,  "that  there  still  re- 
mained an  English  officer  prepossessed  in  favor  of  a 
man  who  had  wrought  so  much  harm  to  England. 
But  Napoleon  possessed  the  art  of  pleasing  in  such 
a  high  degree,  that  there  are  very  few  persons  who, 
if,  like  me,  they  had  been  seated  at  his  table  almost 
a  month,  would  not  have  experienced  a  sentiment  of 
pity,  and  even  of  regret,  in  beholding  a  man  endowed 
with  such  alluring  qualities,  and  who  had  occupied 
such  an  elevated  station  in  the  world,  reduced  to  the 
condition  in  which  I  saw  him." 

Calm,  and  full  of  dignity,  the  Emperor,  on  his 
way  to  the  boat  which  was  to  take  him  to  the 
Northumberland,  bowed  graciously  to  all  who  sur- 
rounded him.  Those  among  the  French  who  had 
obtained  leave  to  follow  him  to  Saint  Helena  seemed 
proud  and  happy ;  the  others  melted  into  tears. 
Las  Cases  said  at  this  moment  to  Lord  Keith:  "  You 
will  observe,  my  Lord,  that  those  who  weep  are  those 
who  are  left  behind." 


XV. 


THE  NORTHUMBERLAND. 


AT  the  moment  when  the  Emperor  was  about  to 
leave  the  Bellerophon  for  the  Northumberland, 
Admiral  Keith  said  to  him,  with  sorrowful  respect, 
"  General,  England  orders  me  to  demand  your 
sword."  To  this  demand  Napoleon  responded  by  a 
glance  so  haughty  that  the  Admiral  dared  not  insist. 
The  giant  of  battles  kept  his  glorious  sword.  He 
was  received  on  the  Northumberland  with  the  same 
honors  as  had  been  paid  him  on  quitting  the  Beller- 
ophon. The  following  day,  August  8,  1815,  the  day 
of  his  departure  for  Saint  Helena,  he  embraced  once 
more  those  of  his  companions  in  misfortune  who  had 
not  obtained  authorization  to  follow  him  into  cap- 
tivity, but  who  were  permitted  to  come  and  pay  him 
their  last  homage  on  board  the  Nortliumberland. 
Among  the  number  was  Savary.  The  Emperor  spe- 
cially charged  him  to  say  to  Captain  Maitland  that 
he  had  desired  to  give  him  some  token  of  remem- 
brance, and  regretted  having  been  rendered  unable 
to  do  so;  for  the  rest,  he  felt  no  resentment  toward 
him  on  account  of  what  had   occurred,  because  that 

200 


THE  NORTHUMBERLAND.  2Q\ 

was  a  matter  which  lay  beyond  his  power.  "  I  do 
not  believe,"  he  added,  "  that  the  Captain  knowingly 
deceived  me.  On  the  contrary,  I  have  seen  in  him 
so  many  evidences  of  honorable  feeling  as  to  per- 
suade me  that  he  is  particularly  grieved  that  the 
confidence  I  placed  in  his  Hag  became  the  snare  of 
my  ill-fortune,  and  that  he  was  made  the  instrument 
of  a  most  shameful  infraction  of  honor  and  morality 
and  every  law  respected  by  the  least  uncivilized 
nations." 

Shortly  afterwards,  while  the  Bellerophon  and  the 
Thunderer  sailed  for  Plymouth,  the  Northumberland 
got  under  way  for  Saint  Helena,  which  it  was  not  to 
reach  until  October  15.  When  the  vessel  passed  the 
heights  of  the  Cape  of  La  Ilogue,  Napoleon  recog- 
nized the  coasts  of  France.  lie  saluted  them,  ex- 
tending his  hands  toward  the  shore,  and  crying,  with 
a  voice  full  of  emotion:  "Adieu,  land  of  heroes! 
Adieu,  dear  France!  A  few  less  traitors,  and  you 
would  lie  the  mistress  of  the  world!  " 

The  English  were  about  to  put  the  captive  upon  a 
gigantic  pedestal.  Without  knowing  it,  and  in  spite 
of  themselves,  those  who  tortured  him  were  to  be- 
come the  courtiers  of  his  glory.  The  rock  of  Saint 
Helena,  as  serviceable  to  his  memory  as  the  prison  of 
the  Conciergerie  was  to  that  of  .Marie  Antoinette, 
was  far  preferable  to  the  hospitality  he  might  have 
received  in  this  or  that  English  palace.  The  author 
of  the  Genie  du  Chrixtianisme  had  reason  for  saving: 
"  What  role  could  the  fugitive,  perhaps  also  feted,  have 


262  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

played  beside  the  Thames,  in  sight  of  France  invaded, 
and  Wellington  dictator  in  the  Louvre  ?  The  high 
destiny  of  Napoleon  served  him  better.  The  English, 
in  allowing  themselves  to  be  carried  away  by  a  nar- 
row and  bitter  policy,  failed  of  their  final  triumph. 
Instead  of  ruining  their  suppliant  by  throwing  open 
to  him  their  prisons  or  their  banquets,  they  made  the 
crown  they  had  torn  away  more  brilliant  than  ever  in 
the  eyes  of  posterity.  He  grew  greater  in  his  captiv- 
ity on  account  of  the  immense  terror  of  the  Powers. 
In  vain  did  the  ocean  enchain  him ;  armed  Europe 
encamped  upon  the  shore,  its  eyes  fastened  on  the 
sea." 

Is  it  not  remarkable  to  see  Chateaubriand,  the 
author  of  Buonaparte  et  les  Bourbons,  that  brochure 
which  was  worth  more  than  an  army  to  Louis 
XVIII.,  thus  making  admiration  succeed  to  anger, 
and  coming  back  at  various  times  to  the  same  reflec- 
tion ?  "The  Emperor,"  he  says  again,  "made  a  mis- 
take in  the  interests  of  his  memory  when  he  desired 
to  remain  in  Europe.  There  he  could  have  been 
nothing  but  a  prisoner,  vulgar  or  dishonored.  His 
old  part  was  played  out ;  but,  that  part  ended,  a  new 
position  prepared  for  him  a  new  renown.  No  man 
who  has  made  a  universal  fame  has  had  an  end  equal 
to  that  of  Napoleon.  He  cannot  be  called,  as  he  was 
after  his  first  downfall,  the  autocrat  of  certain  iron 
ai id  marble  quarries,  of  which  these  might  furnish 
him  a  statue  and  those  a  sword.  An  eagle,  they  gave 
him  a  rock,  on  whose  point  he  stood,  sunbeaten,  until 


THE  NORTHUMBERLAND.  263 

his  death,  and  from  whence  he  was  seen  by  all  the 

earth." 

During  the  voyage  the  Emperor  was  calm,  resigned, 
and  showed  the  most  exquisite  politeness  to  all  his 
attendants  and  to  the  English.  The  latter  refused 
him  the  titles  of  Sire,  Emperor,  or  Majesty.  They 
addressed  him  as  General  or  Your  Excellency. 

Las  Cases  thus  describes  the  interior  of  the  ship  : 
"  The  space  behind  the  mizzen  mast  contained  two 
common  and  two  private  cabins.  The  first  of  the  two 
former  was  the  dining-room,  about  ten  feet  wide,  and 
the  whole  width  of  the  vessel  in  length ;  it  was 
lighted  by  a  porthole  at  each  end  and  a  large  sky- 
light. The  saloon  occupied  all  the  room  remaining 
after  two  cabins,  exactly  similar  to  each  other,  had 
been  cut  off  from  it  to  left  and  right.  Each  of  these 
had  one  door  into  the  dining-room  and  another  into 
the  saloon.  The  Emperor  occupied  the  left-hand  one, 
where  his  campaign  bed  had  been  set  up  ;  the  Admi- 
ral had  the  other.  It  had  been  strictly  provided  that 
the  saloon  should  be  common  and  not  given  to  the 
Emperor  for  his  private  use:  the  Ministers  were 
anxiously  afraid  of  even  so  trifling  a  deference." 

And  here  is  the  description  of  the  dining-table, 
which  followed  the  shape  of  the  cabin  :  "  The  Empe- 
ror sat  with  his  back  to  the  saloon,  facing  toward  the 
bow  of  the  vessel  ;  on  his  left  was  Madame  Bertrand, 
on  his  right  the  Admiral ;  on  the  right  of  the  Admiral 
sat  Madame  de  Montholon.  The  table  turned  at  this 
point.     On  the  short  side  the  commander  of  the  ves- 


264  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

sel,  Captain  Ross,  was  seated,  and  opposite  to  him, 
on  the  corresponding  side,  M.  de  Montholon  beside 
Madame  Bertrand  ;  then  came  the  purser.  The  side 
opposite  the  Emperor,  beginning  at  the  captain  of  the 
ship,  was  occupied  by  the  Grand  Marshal,  the  General, 
the  Colonel  of  the  53d,  myself,  and  Baron  Gourgaud. 
Every  day  the  Admiral  invited  one  or  two  officers, 
who  sat  between  us.  I  was  almost  opposite  the 
Emperor.  The  band  of  the  53d,  which  had  been  but 
recently  recruited,  played  during  the  whole  dinner 
time,  much  to  our  annoyance." 

The  English  have  the  habit  of  sitting  a  long  time 
at  table,  after  dessert,  to  drink  and  chat.  The  Em- 
peror, who  detested  long  meals,  could  not  conform  to 
this  custom.  From  the  first  day,  he  rose  at  once 
after  the  coffee  and  went  out  on  the  bridge.  As  Sir 
George  Cockburn  appeared  to  be  somewhat  aston- 
ished at  this,  Madame  Bertrand  said  to  him,  "  Do  not 
forget,  Admiral,  that  you  are  dealing  with  one  who 
has  been  master  of  the  world,  and  to  whose  table 
kings  begged  the  honor  of  being  admitted."  "  That 
is  true,"  returned  the  Admiral,  who  was  a  courteous 
and  well-bred  man.  After  that  he  abridged  the 
length  of  the  courses,  and  caused  coffee  to  be  served 
before  the  usual  time  to  the  Emperor  and  those  who 
went  out  with  him.  Napoleon  left  the  table  as  soon 
as  he  finished  eating.  The  English  rose  and  re- 
mained standing  until  he  left  the  dining-saloon,  and 
then  sat  down  again  to  chat  and  drink  for  another 
hour. 


THE  NORTHUMBERLAND.  265 

The  Emperor  walked  on  the  bridge  until  nightfall ; 
afterwards  he  re-entered  the  saloon,  where  he  played 
cards  for  half  an  hour,  and  then  retired. 

"  Napoleon's  fete,  which  was  also  his  birthday, 
came  round  during  the  voyage,"  says  Walter  Scott. 
"  It  was  the  fifteenth  of  August,  a  day  for  which  the 
Pope  had  expressly  canonized  a  Saint  Napoleon  to 
be  the  Emperor's  patron.  And  now,  strange  revolu- 
tion !  he  was  celebrating  his  fete  on  board  an  English 
man-of-war,  which  was  conveying  him  to  the  place  of 
his  exile,  which  was  also  to  be  the  place  of  his  tomb. 
Yet  Napoleon  appeared  gay  and  contented  through- 
out the  voyage,  and  saw  with  pleasure  that  he  was 
successful  at  cards,  which  seemed  to  him  a  good 
omen."  In  the  morning  all  his  companions  in  mis- 
fortune, having  asked  permission  to  enter  his  cabin, 
came  in  together.  "  The  Emperor  could  not  guess 
the  reason,"  says  Las  Cases.  "It  was  his  fete,  but 
he  had  not  thought  of  it.  We  had  been  accustomed 
on  this  anniversary  to  see  him  in  larger  places,  re- 
plenished with  the  tokens  of  his  power:  but  we  had 
never  brought  him  more  sincere  good  wishes,  nor 
hearts  more  full  of  him." 

The  next  day,  August  10,  they  doubled  Cape 
Finisterre;  on  the  18th,  Cape  Saint  Vincent;  on  the 
llUh.  they  passi'd  across  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar.  On 
tlu1  succeeding  days  they  sailed  along  the  coast  of 
Africa  towards  Madeira.  On  the  27th,  they  passed 
tne  Canaries,  and  on  the  20th,  crossed  the  tropic.  On 
September  1,  they  passed  the  Islands  of  Cajje  Verde. 


266  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

The  days  followed  one  another,  sad  and  monoto- 
nous. The  heat  was  oppressive,  and  the  sea  often 
rough.  Napoleon  slept  badly.  He  rose  often  in  the 
night,  seeking  a  refuge  from  insomnia  and  grief  in 
reading.  Shut  up  in  his  cabin,  he  spent  his  morn- 
ings in  reading  or  writing,  and  his  evenings  in  walk- 
ing on  the  bridge.  He  used  often  to  go  and  lean 
against  the  next  to  last  cannon  on  the  left  side  of  the 
vessel,  near  the  gangway.  Presently  the  whole  crew 
were  calling  it  the  Emperor's  cannon.  Chatting 
with  this  or  that  one  of  his  attendants  in  misfortune, 
he  passed  in  review  the  places  of  his  existence,  at  once 
bizarre  and  grandiose,  which  had  in  it  something  of 
legend,  romance,  and  tragedy.  Frequently  his  com- 
panions, transported  by  the  eloquence  of  these  re- 
citals, which,  like  his  soul,  were  full  of  fire,  begged 
him  to  dictate  what  he  had  told  so  well.  "  No,  no," 
he  responded,  as  if  sick  of  his  own  story ;  "  let  his- 
tory manage  as  best  it  can !  It  may  search  out  the 
truth  if  it  wants  to  know  it.  The  archives  of  State 
are  full  of  it.  France  will  find  there  the  monuments 
of  her  glory,  and,  if  she  prizes  them,  let  her  busy  her- 
self in  preserving  them  from  oblivion."  Then,  re- 
membering his  most  famous  victories  :  "  They  are 
granite,"  said  he.  "  The  tooth  of  envy  can  do  nothing 
with  them."  Las  Cases,  by  calling  his  attention  to 
the  monotony  of  the  hours,  and  the  necessity  of  whil- 
ing  away  their  dulness  by  work,  at  last  induced  him, 
on  September  9,  to  dictate  something  about  the  siege 
of  Toulon.  Afterwards  he  dictated  his  recollections 
of  the  first  Ttnlian  campaign. 


THE  XORTIIUMBERLAND.  267 


On  September  23,  they  crossed  the  Line,  by  zero  of 
latitude,  zero  of  longitude,  and  zero  of  declination  ; 
"a  circumstance,"  says  Las  Cases,  "which  chance 
might  not  renew  in  a  century,  since  it  is  necessary 
to  arrive  precisely  at  the  first  meridian  toward  noon, 
to  pass  the  Line  at  the  same  hour,  and  to  arrive 
there  at  the  same  time  as  the  sun.  This  was  a  day  of 
great  mirth  and  much  disorder  for  the  whole  crew ; 
it  was  the  ceremony  which  our  sailors  call  the  baptism, 
and  the  English,  the  big  shaving  day.  The  sailors, 
arrayed  in  the  most  ridiculous  costumes,  conduct, 
with  great  ceremony,  all  those.'  who  have  never  crossed 
the  Line  to  the  feet  of  one  of  their  number  who 
personates  Neptune.  There  one's  beard  is  drenched 
with  bilge  water  and  shaved  off  with  an  immense 
razor.  Pails  of  water  thrown  over  you  from  all 
sides,  and  the  rude  laughter  with  which  the  crew 
accompany  your  flight,  complete  your  initiation  into 
the  grand  mysteries.  Nobody  escapes ;  even  the 
officers  are  in  some  ways  more  badly  used  than  the 
least  of  the  sailors.  We  alone,  by  a  perfect  courtesy 
on  the  part  of  the  Admiral,  who,  until  then,  had 
amused  himself  by  making  us  dread  this  terrible 
ceremony,  escaped  its  inconveniences  and  its  ridicule. 
We  were  conducted,  with  every  attention  and  respect, 
to  the  feet  of  the  clumsy  god,  from  whom  each  of  us 
received  a  characteristic  compliment:  this  was  the 
extent  of  our  trials.  The  Emperor  was  scrupulously 
respected  throughout  this  saturnalia,  which  usually 
respects  nothing  and  nobody.     Having  been  apprised 


2G8  ELBA,   AND    THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

of  the  ordinary  custom  and  the  deference  displayed 
towards  him,  he  ordered  a  hundred  napoleons  to  be 
distributed  to  the  grotesque  Neptune  and  his  attend- 
ants, but  this  the  Admiral  refused  to  concede,  as 
much  out  of  prudence  as  politeness." 

Apropos  of  this  journey,  Chateaubriand  has  said  in 
his  Memoir -es  cV outre-tombc :  "  The  sea  which  Napo- 
leon crossed  was  not  that  friendly  sea  which  had 
borne  him  from  the  harbors  of  Corsica,  the  sands  of 
Aboukir,  and  the  rocks  of  Elba  to  the  shores  of 
Provence :  it  was  that  inimical  oce.an  which,  having 
hemmed  him  in  in  Germany,  France,  Portugal,  and 
Spain,  never  opened  before  save  to  close  in  upon 
him  from  behind.  It  is  probable  that  in  feeling 
the  waves  impel  his  vessel,  and  the  trade  winds  with 
their  constant  breathing  blow  him  further  on,  he  did 
not  make  the  same  reflections  on  his  catastrophe 
which  it  inspires  in  me.  Every  man  feels  his  life 
in  his  own  way ;  he  who  gives  the  world  a  grand 
spectacle  is  less  touched  and  instructed  by  it  than 
the  spectator.  Occupied  with  the  past  as  if  it  might 
revive  again,  hoping  still  in  the  midst  of  his  recollec- 
tions, Bonaparte  hardly  noticed  that  he  was  crossing 
the  Line :  he  did  not  ask  what  hand  had  traced  the 
circles  in  which  the  spheres  are  constrained  to  im- 
prison their  eternal  march." 

However,  the  end  of  the  voyage  was  approaching. 
Since  the  Emperor  had  begun  to  spend  his  mornings 
in  dictation,  of  which  lie  daily  grew  more  fond,  the 
hours    had   been   less   heavy  to   him.     According   to 


THE  NORTHUMBERLAND.  269 

Las  Cases,  he  would  begin  by  seeming  to  distrust 
himself,  saying  that  he  would  never  be  able  to  accom- 
plish anything.  Then  lie  would  ponder  for  some 
minutes ;  then,  rising  and  walking  back  and  forth, 
he  would  begin  to  dictate.  From  that  moment  he 
was  another  man.  Everything  flowed  straight  from 
the  source;  he  spoke  as  if  by  inspiration:  expres- 
sions, places,  dates,  nothing  retarded  him. 

At  last,  on  Sunday,  October  15,  seventy  days  after 
leaving  England,  and  one  hundred  and  ten  after 
leaving  Paris,  Napoleon  perceived  the  Island  of  Saint 
Helena,  which  was  to  be  his  grave.  He  thought  then 
of  Corsica,  which  had  been  his  cradle.  Victor  Hugo 
has  said :  — 

"  These  isles,  where  the  surges  pound 
Between  the  naked  reefs, 
Are  like  two  vessels  of  prey 
Chained  to  an  eternal  anchor. 
The'  hand  that  fixed  the  savage  sites 
Of  these  black  shores, 
And  willed  to  cover  them  with  dread, 
Made  them  so  terrible,  perhaps, 
That  Bonaparte  might,  there  be  born, 
And  here  Napoleon  might  die." 

But  listen  to  Chateaubriand:  — 

>w()m  October  15,  the  Northumberland  had  reached 
the  height  of  Saint  Helena.  The  passenger  went  on 
the  bridge;  it  was  with  difficulty  that  he  descried 
an  almost  imperceptible  black  spot  in  the  azure 
immensity;  he  took  a  spyglass;  he  observed  this 
grain  of  earth   as  he  had   in    other  days  observed   a 


270  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

fortress  in  the  middle  of  a  lake.  He  saw  the  village 
of  Saint  James,  closed  in  by  precipitous  rocks ;  not 
a  wrinkle  in  that  sterile  face  in  which  a  cannon  was 
not  hanging.  It  seemed  as  if  the  captive  were  to  be 
received  according  to  his  own  genius." 

The  anchor  was  lowered  toward  midday.  It 
touched  bottom.  In  contemplating  this  island,  the 
result  of  a  volcanic  eruption,  which  cast  it  into  the 
middle  of  the  ocean,  with  its  inaccessible  coasts  and 
arid  rocks,  lifting  their  black  crests  to  heaven,  and 
dominated  by  the  peak  of  Diana,  which  overlooks 
them  all,  Napoleon  remained  impassible.  No  one 
could  surprise  upon  his  countenance  even  the  faintest 
trace  of  expression.  Perhaps  he  understood  that 
such  a  prison  was  worthy  of  a  Titan  thunder-stricken. 
In  reality,  he  was  not  a  subject  for  self-pity.  As  M. 
Veuillot  has  said :  "  Five  years  were  to  be  accorded 
him  to  behold  himself  in  the  past  and  in  the  future, 
to  justify  or  explain  himself  before  men,  to  humble 
himself  before  God.  During  five  years  he  remains 
upright  on  the  threshold  of  the  tomb;  he  descends 
into  it  step  by  step,  surrounded  by  admiration,  love, 
and  pity,  consecrated  by  expiation  as  he  had  been  by 
glory." 

We  lost  sight  long  ago  of  the  heroine  of  this  study, 
Marie  Louise.  Was  it  not  the  fault  of  the  faithless 
Empress,  who,  in  this  grandiose  and  terrible  drama 
of  the  Hundred  Days,  and  the  second  death-struggle 
of  the  Empire,  never  once  lifted  her  voice  to  plead 
the  cause  of  her  husband  and  her  son  ?     Not  a  letter  ; 


NAPOLEON    AT    Sf     HELENA 


THE  NORTHUMBERLAND.  271 

not  a  line ;  not  a  phrase  to  console  the  vanquished  of 
Waterloo,  the  captive  of  the  Belleroplion.  The  Eng- 
lish themselves  were  moved  to  pity.  Marie  Louise 
remained  cold.  Not  a  tear ;  not  a  movement  of  com- 
passion; well-being  preferred  to  duty  ;  mean  calcula- 
tions repelling  magnanimous  inspirations  ;  not  one  of 
those  generous  accents  which  from  century  to  century 
would  have  re-echoed  in  the  ears  of  posterity ! 

One  is  still  more  inclined  to  severity  toward  the 
former  Regent  of  the  Empire,  the  wife  of  Napoleon, 
and  the  mother  of  the  King  of  Rome,  when  reading 
these  two  letters  addressed  to  her  by  Prince  Met- 
ternich :  — 

'•Paris,  July  18,  1815.  Madame:  I  promised,  be- 
fore my  departure  from  Vienna,  to  inform  Your 
Imperial  Majesty  directly  of  whatever  related  to 
Napoleon's  fate.  You  will  see  by  the  inclosed  ex- 
tract from  the  Moniteur  that  he  has  surrendered 
himself  to  the  English  vessel,  the  Belleroplion,  after 
having  vainly  attempted  to  escape  the  vigilance  of 
the  cruisers  in  front  of  Rochefort.  According  to  an 
arrangement  made  between  the  Powers,  he  will  be 
imprisoned  at  Fort  Saint  George,  in  the  north  of 
Scotland,  under  the  surveillance  of  Austrian,  Prus- 
sian, French,  and  Russian  commissioners.  lie  will 
be  very  well  treated,  and  given  all  the  liberty  com- 
patible with  the  completest  certainty  that  he  cannot 
escape." 

"August  13.  181.").  Madame:  Napoleon  is  on 
board    the     Northumberland,    on    his    way    to    Saint 


272  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DA  VS. 

Helena.  The  only  news  we  have  of  his  departure 
from  Torbay  comes  by  telegraph ;  but  we  know  that 
it  was  out  at  sea  that  he  left  one  vessel  for  the  other. 
He  was  sent  away  on  the  Bellerojihon  because  the 
crowd  of  sightseers  increased  so  greatly  about  the 
vessel,  that  there  was  no  certainty  that  there  Would 
not  be  a  scandal." 

What  dryness  in  these  letters !  Not  a  word  of 
pity  for  such  a  memorable  misfortune !  Metternich 
still  addresses  Marie  Louise  as  Imperial  Majesty, 
while  he  calls  the  Emperor  simply  Napoleon.  At 
least  he  might  have  said,  "your  husband,"  to  the 
former  Empress.  Assuredly  the  astute  Minister,  the 
most  skilful  of  courtiers,  must  have  been  very  certain 
of  her  forgetfulness  when  he  spoke  to  her  of  her 
husband  in  terms  so  laconic,  so  disdainful!  The 
Austrian  statesman  knew  very  well  that  instead  of 
desiring  to  be  the  companion  of  a  captive,  she  had 
but  one  thought,  —  that  of  reigning  at  Parma,  with 
General  Neipperg  as  a  morganatic  prince-consort. 
The  letters  of  the  Minister  of  the  Emperor  Francis, 
coming  after  Napoleon's  departure  for  Saint  Helena, 
suggest  painful  reflections.  It  was  here,  then,  that 
tin;  marriage  so  much  celebrated,  so  much  exalted, 
which  it  was  supposed  would  procure  the  happiness 
of  Napoleon,  the  glory  of  France,  and  the  repose  and 
prosperity  of  the  world,  was  to  end  ! 

Marie  Louise  did  not  even  suspect  the  interest  she 
^till  inspired  in  the  last  faithful  adherents  of  the 
Napoleonic   cause.     Baron  de  Bausset,  formerly  pre- 


THE  NORTHUMBERLAND.  273 

feet  of  the  imperial  palace,  the  only  Frenchman  who 
still  remained  near  her,  repeats  the  conversations  he 
had  at  this  time  with  a  Polish  count  who  had  fought 
under  Napoleon's  standard,  and  who  never  spoke  of 
the  former  Empress  but  as  %*  my  general's  widow." 
She  was  a  widow,  in  fact ;  a  widow  during  her  hus- 
band's lifetime  !  '"So  many  confused  ideas  take  pos- 
session of  me,"  said  the  brave  officer,  "when  I  see 
her  alone  and  pensive  on  her  balcony,  that  I  am 
tempted  to  weep,  I  have  at  once  so  much  pleasure 
and  so  much  pain  in  looking  at  her.  There  are  days 
when,  unable  to  resist  my  desire  to  see  her  son,  I 
have  myself  driven  out  to  Schoenbrunn.  I  have  had 
the  happiness  of  seeing  him  walking  with  his  gov- 
ernor in  the  gardens  of  the  palace,  attended  by  a 
single  footman.  What  beautiful  fair  hair!  ...  I 
looked  at  him  well.  .  .  .  His  eyes  seem  bluer  than 
his  father's.  In  the  upper  part  of  his  face  he  has  the 
features  and  the  forehead  of  Napoleon;  the  others 
recall  his  mother.  Alas!  I  said  to  myself  in  looking 
at  him,  if  that  fatal  Russian  campaign  had  not  been 
undertaken,  what  a  brilliant  destiny  would  have  been 
reserved  for  this  young  child  who  now,  separated 
from  his  father,  is  obliged  to  grow  up  in   a  strange 

land \nd  we   Poles,  so  frankly  devoted   and 

loyal  to  France,  would  not  have  been  divided  between 
three  rival  crowns,  between  whom  and  ourselves 
there  exists  no  tie  of  habit  or  manners." 

To  this  recital  Baron  de  Bausset  adds:  "I  have  no 
longer  any  answer  to  make  to  the  Polish  count:  but 


274  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

he  overwhelmed  me,  nevertheless,  with  a  multitude 
of  questions.  Only,  when  he  asked  me  what  impres- 
sion the  latest  tidings  had  made  upon  the  heart  of 
Marie  Louise,  I  replied  that  the  story  of  so  many 
misfortunes  had  been  told  her  by  the  Austrian  Em- 
press, who  seemed  reserved  for  this  sort  of  communi- 
cations. This  princess  had  come  eagerly  to  Marie 
Louise.  Their  private  interview  lasted  until  it  was 
time  to  sit  down  at  table.  The  mother-in-law  had 
a  very  marked  appearance  of  satisfaction.  On  the 
features  of  Marie  Louise  I  perceived  an  emotion  she 
was  trying  to  subdue.  I  sat  opposite  their  Majesties, 
and  lost  not  an  expression  of  their  faces." 

This  emotion  which  Marie  Louise  sought  vainly  to 
conceal,  is  the  attenuating  circumstance  we  plead  in 
her  favor.  Were  not  the  politicians  who  surrounded 
the  poor  young  wife  with  so  many  snares,  and  labored 
so  systematically  to  turn  her  from  her  duties  and  cor- 
rupt her,  the  real  criminals?  Left  to  herself,  —  let 
us  render  her  this  justice,  —  she  would  have  played  a 
wholly  different  part.  They  abused  her  youth,  her 
feebleness.  That  is  why,  less  severe  than  posterity, 
her  husband  pardoned  her.  On  the  rock  of  Saint 
Helena  lie  had  not  a  single  word  of  bitterness,  a 
single  word  of  reproach  for  the  faithless  one.  And, 
at  the  beginning  of  his  testament  he  thus  invokes 
those  three  great  souvenirs,  —  Religion,  Country,  and 
Marie  Louise :  — 

"April  15,  1821.  At  Longwood,  Island  of  Saint 
Helena.      1.     I  die  in  the  Apostolic  and  Roman  relig- 


THE  NORTHUMBERLAND.  275 

ion,  in  whose  bosom  I  was  born  more  than  fifty  years 
ago ;  2.  I  desire  that  my  ashes  may  repose  beside  the 
Seine,  in  the  midst  of  that  French  people  I  have  so 
much  loved ;  3.  I  have  always  been  satisfied  with  my 
dearest  wife,  Marie  Louise ;  I  have  preserved  to  the 
last  moment  the  tenderest  sentiments  toward  her;  I 
pray  her  to  be  careful  to  secure  my  son  from  the 
snares  which  still  surround  his  childhood." 

Alas !  why  was  not  Marie  Louise  more  worthy  of 
this  eulogy  of  the  prisoner?  Why  had  he  not  the 
right  to  say  of  her  what  he  had  said  of  his  brother 
Jerome's  wife  :  "  The  Princess  Catherine  of  Wiirtem- 
berg  has  written  her  name  in  history  with  her  own 
hands."  There  was  a  devoted,  disinterested,  cour- 
ageous spouse,  the  true  model  of  wives  and  mothers ! 
When,  in  1814,  every  inducement,  every  possible 
effort,  was  made  to  divorce  her,  so  as  to  marry  her  to 
some  rich  and  powerful  prince,  some  sovereign  possi- 
bly, she  wrote  to  her  father,  the  King  of  Wiirtem- 
berg:  "Forced  by  political  reasons  to  espouse  the 
King,  my  husband,  fate  willed  that  I  should  find  my- 
self the  happiest  woman  in  existence.  I  bear  towards 
my  husband  all  sentiments  united — love,  tenderness, 
esteem.  In  this  painful  moment,  would  the  best  of 
fathers  destroy  my  internal  happiness,  the  sole  happi- 
ness, indeed,  which  remains  to  me?"  And  the  noble 
Princess  loved  exile  and  poverty  with  her  husband 
better  than  native  land  and  wealth  without  him. 

This  difference  between  the  conduct  of  Catherine 
of  Wiirtemberg  and  that  of   Marie  Louise  is  easily 


276  ELBA,   AND   THE  HUNDRED  DAYS. 

explained.  It  must  be  admitted,  women  never  push 
devotion  and  charity  to  heroism  except  when  they 
have  love  for  a  motive  —  love  human  or  divine,  the 
love  of  the  lover  for  her  well-beloved,  of  the  wife  for 
her  husband,  of  the  mother  for  her  child,  of  the 
Christian  for  her  God.  Then  the  feeble  sex  becomes 
strong.  Then  are  realized  those  grand  words  of  the 
Imitation  of  Jesus  Christ :  "  Love  is  capable  of  all ; 
it  accomplishes  many  things  which  exhaust  those 
who  do  not  love.  Love  watches  always,  and  even  in 
slumber  does  not  sleep.  No  fatigue  wearies  it;  no 
fear  troubles  it ;  but,  like  a  living  and  ardent  flame, 
it  always  ascends  on  high  and  opens  a  sure  passage 
through  every  obstacle."  Why  was  one  of  these 
princesses  sublime,  and  the  other  vulgar?  For  a 
very  simple  reason :  Catherine  of  Wiirtemberg  was 
in  love  with  Jerome ;  Marie  Louise  was  not  in  love 
with  Napoleon. 


INDEX. 


Aix  in  Savoy,  Marie  Louise  takes 

the  baths  at,  31  et  seq. 
Alexander  I. ;  magnanimity  of,  to 

Napoleon,  5:    caricature   of,  54; 

interest  of,  in  Marie  Louise,  73; 

intimacy    of,    with    Eugene    de 


loyalty,    205 ;    takes   Napoleon's 

proposal  to  attack  the  Allies,  to 

the  Provisional  Government,  211. 

Bellange,   Hippolyte,   his  painting 

of  the  agony  of  the  Guard,  1G9. 
Bellcrophon,  the,  takes  Napoleon  to 
Beauharnais,  74;  his  sympathy;  England,  241 ;  goes  to  Plymouth, 
with  Marie  Louise,  75;  his  ill  242:  transfers  Napoleon  to  the 
luck  at  the  Princess  Esterha/.y's ]  Northumberland  at  Start  Point, 
lottery,    7'.';    indignation    of.    at,      257. 

the    secret    treaty  against    him, '  Bertrand,  General,  describes  Napo- 
127;  under  the  spell  of  Madame       Icon's  journey  to  Elba,  0. 
de    Krudeiier,    127;    opposes   the   Bertrand,  Madame,  tries  to  throw 
suppression  of  the  tricolored  Mag,       herself  overboard,  253. 
128;    his  antipathy  to  the  Bour-' Bonaparte,    Joseph,    meets    Marie 
lions.    12!t;    conversation    of,    on       Louise  at  Se'eheron,  32. 
the  situation  of  France,  130;  will-   Bonaparte,     Lucien,     recalled     by 
ing  to  establish  .Marie  Louise  as       Napoleon,     142;     describes    the 
Regent,  130;  favors  the  Duke  of       conduct,    of    the  Assembly  after 


Orleans,   131. 
Arndt,  Maurice,  his  Catechism  f<>r 
fin-man    Soldiers   and    Military 
Men,  114  et  acq. 


Waterloo,  177:  dialogue  of,  with 
Napoleon,  181  ;  addresses  the 
('handlers,  183  ft  seq. ,"  on  the  ab- 
dication, 188;  takes  the  oath  to 


Arrighi,    Vicar-General    of     Elba,       Napoleon  II.,  192 ;  avows  the  loss 

issues  his  charge  respecting  Na-       of  tins  imperial  cause,  192. 

poleon.  Hi.  Bounnont,  General    de,  and   other 

Azores,  Talleyrand  proposes  to  re-       ollicers    go   over   to    the    enemy 

move  Napoleon  to,  80,  82.  before  Waterloo,  157. 

I  Brignole,  Countess  of,  lady  of  honor 
Bassano.  Duke  of,  urges  Napoleon !      to     Marie     Louise,    5;    implores 

to  seize  the  reins  of  government,        Marie  Louise  to  rejoin  Napoleon, 

202.  P!2. 

Bausset,    Baron    de,    interview   of,   Buiibury,  Sir  Henry,  reads  to  Na- 

with  a  Polish  count,  293.  polcon  the  decision  of  the  British 

Beauharnais,  Eugene  de,  intimacy       Government  as  to  his  exile,  248. 

of.  with  Alexander  L,  71. 
Beker,  General,  sent  by  the  Minis-  Caffarelli,  Madame,    her    recollec- 

ter   of    War   to   take    charge   of       t ions  of  Napoleon  at  Malmaison, 

Napoleon,  204  ;  his  magnanimous!      201. 


278 


INDEX. 


Carnot,  named  by  Napoleon  Min- 
ister of  the  Interior,  104;  sup- 
ports the  idea  of  a  dictatorship 
for  Napoleon  after  Waterloo,  176. 

Caroline  Murat,  Queen  of  Naples, 
25. 

Caroline,  Princess  of  Wales,  char- 
acter of,  48;  has  an  interview 
witli  Marie  Louise,  49. 

Castlereagh,  Lord,  rudeness  of,  to 
Marie  Louise,  75. 

Chateaubriand,  reflections  of,  on 
hearing  the  cannonading  of 
Waterloo,  1G2;  quoted,  193,  256, 
261,  262,  268,  269. 

Constant,  Benjamin,  tergiversation 
of,  108. 

Dalesme,  General,  delivers  the  com- 
mand of  Elba  to  Napoleon,  12; 
proclamation  of,  to  the  Elbans,  12. 

Declaration  of  March  13,  a  medley 
of  hate  and  terror,  113. 

Decres,  Duke,  makes  every  effort 
to  save  Napoleon  from  captivity, 
207. 

Domon,  General,  sent  by  Napoleon 
to  make  a  reconnoissance,  163 ; 
reports  that  Bliicher  is  coming 
up  instead  of  Grouchy,  164. 

Drouot,  General,  receives  from 
General  Dalesme  the  command 
of  Elba,  12. 

Elba,  Francis  I.  objects  to,  as  a 
place  of  exile  for  Napoleon,  4 ; 
Napoleon  takes  possession  of, 
14;  Napoleon's  return  from,  an- 
nounced in  Vienna,  79;  the  em- 
barkation, etc.,  82. 

England,  opposition  in,  to  the  atti- 
tude of  the  Ministry  towards 
France,  126;  Napoleon  seeks  an 
asylum  in,  224. 

Esterhazy,  Princess  Paul,  gems 
worn  by,  58;  lottery  at  the  house 
of,  79. 

Etruria,  the  King  of.  at  Paris,  57; 
the  Queen  of,   disputes  the  pos- 


session   of    Parma   with    Marie 
Louise,  57. 
Exelmans,  General,  declares  resist- 
ance   useless    and  the  Tuileries 
is  opened  to  Napoleon,  102. 

"  Field  of  May,"  the  ceremony  of, 
143,  145. 

Fouche,  his  contradictory  orders  as 
to  Napoleon's  departure,  206. 

Francis  II.,  his  adroit  alienation  of 
his  daughter  from  Napoleon,  2; 
letter  of,  to  Napoleon,  concerning 
Marie  Louise,  3;  to  Metternich, 
respecting  Napoleon's  place  of 
exile,  4;  has  no  longer  sympathy 
for  him,  5;  refuses  to  recognize 
his  daughter  as  a  sovereign,  23. 

Gourgaud,  General,  permitted  to 
accompany  Napoleon,  258. 

Grenoble,  gates  of.  forced  by  Napo- 
leon's soldiers,  96. 

Grouchy  goes  to  Wavres  instead  of 
to  Waterloo,  164 ;  fails  to  arrive, 
166 ;  safe  at  Laon,  186. 

Guard,  Old,  Napoleon's,  lands  at 
Elba,  18;  detachment  of,  at  Elba, 
accompanies  Napoleon  on  his  re- 
turn, 85;  charges  at  Waterloo 
and  covers  the  retreat,  167. 

Hortense,  Queen,  insists  on  Napo- 
leon's accepting  her  diamond 
necklace,  213. 

Hotham,  Admiral,  visits  Napoleon 
on  the  Bellerophoii,  238. 

Inconstant,  the,  Napoleon's  returu 
from  Elba  in,  83. 

Jaucourt,  M.  de,  letter  of,  to  Talley- 
rand, on  the  situation  of  France, 
120. 

Josephine,  Napoleon  recalls  his  life 
with,  at  Mahnaison,  201. 

Jung,  Colonel,  quoted,  107. 

Keith,  Admiral,  demands  Napo- 
leon's sword,  260. 


1XDEX. 


279 


Krudener.  Madame  de,  her  fatal  I 
influence  over  Alexander  I.,  127. 

Labedoyere,  General  de,  carries  his 
regiment  over  to  Napoleon,  95; 
speaks  hotly  against  those  who  ■ 
refuse  to  recognize  Napoleon  II., 
193  ;  excluded  by  the  government 
of  Louis  XVIII.  from  amnesty, 

La  Bruyere,  quotation  from,  54. 

Lafayette,  describes  Napoleon's  ap- 
pearance, 152;  discourse  of,  in 
the  Chamber  after  Waterloo,  178; 
sends  word  to  Napoleon  that  he 
must  abdicate  at  once  or  be  de- 
posed, ISO. 

Laou,  the  news  of  Napoleon's  abdi- 
cation reaches  the  soldiers  at. 
198. 

Las  Cases,  fount  de,  quoted,  219: 
agitation  of,  on  hearing  that 
Napoleon  was  to  be  sent  to 
Saint  Helena,  243;  describes  the 
thronging  of  the  people  to  view 
Napoleon  at  Plymouth,  245; 
chosen  by  Napoleon  to  accom- 
pany him  to  Saint  Helena,  253; 
describes  the  interior  of  the 
Northumberland,  2(13. 

Las  Cases,  Countess  de,  meets  her 
husband  ot  Malmaison.  202. 

La  Tour-du-Pin,  Baron  de,  bis  ac- 
count of  the  death  and  funeral  of 
Queen  Marie  Caroline,  29:  letters 
of,  concerning  .Marie  Louise  at  the 
Vienna  Congress,  55;  concerning 
the  tournament,  59,  GO;  concern- 
ing Count  Neippcrg,  l>3;  regard- 
ing the  "  Litt  le  Bonaparte,"  <><>. 

Lavalette  makes  a  way  for  Napo- 
leon to  enter  the  Tuileries,  103. 

Ligne,  Prince  de,  interest  of  in 
Napoleon's  son,  l>9. 

Ligny,  battle  of,  gained  by  Napo- 
leon, 157. 

Louis  XVI.,  mass  of  expiation 
offered  for  at  Vienna,  71. 

Louis    XVIIL.   address   of,    to   the 


Chambers  before  his  flight,  99; 
takes  flight,  100. 

Mai t land,  Captain,  receives  Napo- 
leon's envoys,  224:  his  courtesy 
to  the  French  officers  sent  by 
Napoleon,  22(i;  declares  his  in- 
tentions with  regard  to  the 
French  frigates,  227;  advises  Na- 
poleon's taking  refuge  in  Eng- 
land, 228.  232;  emotion  of,  tit 
Napoleon's  departure  from  the 
Bcllerophun,  258. 

Manuel,  proclaims  Napoleon  II.  as 
nominal  sovereign,  196. 

Marie  Caroline,  Queen  of  the  Two 
Sicilies,  her  history  and  traits, 
24  et  seq. :  her  adventurous  jour- 
ney to  Vienna,  26;  urges  Marie 
Louise  to  rejoin  Napoleon,  27; 
death  of,  29. 

Marie  Louise,  her  gradual  transfor- 
mation, 1;  leaves  France,  5,  11; 
her  suite  and  journey,  5  ct  seq.; 
expenses  of,  ti ;  her  regret  at  not 
having  met  her  husband  at  Fon- 
tainebleau,  f>;  her  solicitude  for 
Napoleon,  7;  her  final  separation 
from  him  decided  by  the  Aus- 
trian Government,  8;  arrives  at 
Schoenbrunn.  10;  her  life  there, 
22;  her  sisters,  22;  visited  by 
Queen  Marie  Caroline,  27:  goes 
to  Aix  in  Savoy,  as  the  Countess 
of  Colerno,  32:  met  anil  escorted 
by  General  Count  Neipperg,  :;:i; 
surrounded  by  Imperialists  and 
still  true  to  Napoleon,  34;  her 
correspondence  with  Meneval, 
35;  the  French  Government  un- 
easy about  her.  40:  in  Switzer- 
land with  Neipperg,  42.  4(i:  at 
Braunau,  52 :  not  present  at  the 
fetes  of  the  Vienna  Congress.  55; 
attends  the  rehearsal  of  the  tour- 
nament, 58;  visits  the  Russian 
Empress,  t>2 :  removes  the  French 
imperial  arms  from  her  liveries, 
H2;   begins   to   love  Count   Neip- 


280 


INDEX. 


perg,  63 ;  holds  no  communica- 
tion with  Napoleon  without  her 
father's  consent,  65 ;  her  ambi- 
tion to  be  Duchess  of  Parma,  72 ; 
sympathy  of  Alexander  I.  with, 
75;  the  stipulations  of  the  Fon- 
tainebleau  treaty  with  respect  to 
her,  disregarded,  75;  refuses  to 
he  content  with  Lucca,  77 ;  con- 
sents not  to  take  her  son  there, 
77;  hears  of  Napoleon's  quitting 
Elba,  111  ;  her  struggle  with 
regard  to  joining  Napoleon,  112; 
causes  Count  Neipperg  to  write 
to  Metternich  that  she  had  no 
part  in  Napoleon's  projects,  116; 
enthralled  by  General  Neipperg, 
120 ;  declares  to  Meneval that  she 
will  not  return  to  France,  124; 
the  results  of  her  decision,  125 ; 
Alexander  I.  willing  to  establish 
her  as  Regent,  130;  her  indiffer- 
ence to  Napoleon,  131;  her  con- 
stant intimacy  with  General 
Neipperg,  133;  her  lack  of  regret 
for  the  death  of  General  Neip- 
perg's  wife,  134;  her  strange  af- 
fection for  him,  134;  persists  in 
her  refusal  to  go  to  France.  135; 
gives  up  her  son,  136  ;  bids  Mene- 
val adieu,  and  declares  a  separa- 
tion from  Napoleon  a  necessity, 
137;  letters  of  Metternich  to,  on 
Napoleon's  fate,  271;  her  senti- 
ments towards  Napoleon  devoid 
of  love,  276. 
Meneval,  Baron  de,  in  the  suite  of 
Marie  Louise,  6;  letter  of,  con- 
cerning Marie  Louise  at  Vienna, 
66;  on  the  hostility  at  Vienna  to 
Marie  Louise  and  her  son,  67: 
conversation  of,  with  Marie 
Louise,  concerning  her  course, 
124;  his  journal  kept  at  Schoen- 
brunn,  133;  his  last,  interview 
with  Marie  Louise,  135,  137 ; 
takes  leave  of  Napoleon's  son, 
136;  gives  Napoleon  news  of 
his  wife's  decision  and  of  his  son, 


138;  describes  his  demeanor, 
140. 

Meurthe,  Boulay  de  la,  asserts  that 
by  Napoleon's  abdication,  his 
son  reigns  in  due  course,  195. 

Michel,  Colonel,  brings  to  Paris  the 
news  of  Waterloo,  174. 

Michelet,  quoted,  200. 

Military  fete  given  in  the  Champ- 
de-Mars  by  the  Imperial  Guard, 
106. 

Moniteur  Universel,  account  in,  of 
a  grand  rout  in  Vienna  during 
the  Congress,  61 ;  the  proclama- 
tion of  Napoleon  in,  before  Water- 
loo, 172. 

Montebello,  Countess  of,  in  the 
suite  of  Marie  Louise,  5. 

Montesquiou,  Countess  of,  gov- 
erness of  the  King  of  Rome,  2,  5, 
65;  deprived  of  the  care  of  Napo- 
leon's son,  117;  not  allowed  to 
return  to  France,  132. 

Montrond,  M.  de,  sent  to  Vienna  to 
endeavor  to  recall  Marie  Louise 
to  her  husband,  120;  his  interview 
with  Talleyrand  and  others,  121 
ct  seq. ;  brings  to  Napoleon  let- 
ters and  the  details  of  his  mis- 
sion, 123. 

Murat,  reconciled  to  Napoleon  by 
the  Princess  Borghese,  110; 
beaten  at  Tolentino.  134,  144 ; 
proclamation  of,  at  Rimini,  143; 
exiled  to  Provence,  144. 

Musset,  Alfred  de,  quoted,  9. 

Naples  surrendered  to  the  English 
and  Austrians  by  Madame  Murat, 
144. 

Xapoleon  supposes  Francis  I.  is  in- 
terested in  his  fate,  5  ;  arrives  at 
Elba,  11  ;  ceremony  of  embarka- 
tion, 13;  official  report,  of  his 
taking  possession  of  the  island, 
14;  visits  the  public  institutions, 
15;  forms  his  court  and  receives 
his  subjects,  17;  his  army,  IS; 
happy  at  Elba,  20;  unwilling  to 


INDEX. 


281 


have  Marie  Louise  go  to  Aix, 
31  ;  visited  by  the  Countess  Wa- 
lewska,  43  ;  letter  of,  to  the  Grand 
I  Hike  of  Tuscany,  enclosing  one 
for  Marie  Louise,  64 ;  the  return 
of,  from  Elba,  announced  in 
Vienna,  79 :  the  embarkation,  83  ; 
incidents  of  the  voyage,  S3  et 
t>eq.;  his  proclamations  to  the 
French  people  and  the  army,  85 
et  si  7. ;  lands  in  the  Bay  of  Juan, 
87;  takes  his  route  for  Paris,  88 
et  seq. ;  meets  the  Royalist  Guard 
and  receives  their  allegiance,  94 
>t  seq.;  at  Grenoble,  97;  writes 
to  Marie  Louise  asking  her  to 
rejoin  him,  97;  enters  Lyons 
in  triumph,  98;  meets  Ney  at 
Auxerre,  100;  arrives  at  Fon- 
tainebleau,  101;  enters  the  Tui- 
leries,  103;  reviews  the  soldiers! 
and  names  Carnot  Minister  of 
the  Interior,  104;  visits  Saint! 
Denis,  100;  grand  fete  in  his 
honor  in  the  Champ-de-Mars, ! 
lOtj;  finds  the  evidences  of  gen- 
eral tergiversation,  108;  strives 
to  regain  possession  of  his  wife 
and  son,  llii;  sends  letters  to 
Vienna  to  this  end.  llti:  sends  de 
Montroml  to  Vienna  to  recall 
Marie  Louise  to  him,  120;  re- 
ceives from  Meneval  the  intelli- 
gence of  his  wife's  decision  and  j 
of  the  fate  of  his  son.  139;  no 
longer  entertains  any  illusions, 
Mo;  recalls  Lueien,  142;  his  pro-! 
pensity  to  sleep.  112:  refuses  to 
abdicate,  143;  exiles  Murat.  144: 
celebrates  the  inauguration  of 
the  liberal  Empire  in  the  "Field 
of  May."  145;  bis  speech,  148; 
addresses  the  National  Guard, 
149:  at  the  Tuileries  for  the  last 
time.  150;  his  iliscourse  at  the 
opening  of  the  ('handlers.  152; 
and  to  the  Chamber  of  Peers. 
153;  his  plans  at  Waterloo,  157; 
gains   the    battle  of    Liguy,   157 ; 


physically  and  mentally  fatigued, 
159;  fears  that  Wellington  will 
retreat,  100 ;  still  has  illusions, 
hid;  gives  the  signal  for  battle  to 
begin,  101 ;  in  doubt  about  the 
arrival  of  Grouchy,  1(33;  sends 
re-enforcements  to  Ney,  105;  hes- 
itatesaud  becomes  perplexed,  ltki, 
sends  the  Guard  to  the  attack, 
107;  gives  the  signal  to  retreat, 
108  :  his  own  retreat,  170:  in  Paris 
again,  174  :  undecided  and  power- 
less, 175 ;  asks  for  a  temporary 
dictatorship  from  the  Chambers, 
170;  wavers  and  feels  himself 
vanquished,  179;  dialogue  of, 
with  Lueien  Bonaparte,  181;  the 
common  people  and  soldiers  re- 
ceive him  with  enthusiasm,  182; 
informed  by  Lueien  that  a  coup 
d'etat  or  an  abdication  are  the 
only  alternatives,  185;  receives 
word  from  Lafayette  that  he 
must  abdicate  at  once  or  be  de- 
posed. ISO;  abdicates  in  favor  of 
his  son.  188;  his  address  to  the 
deputation  from  the  Assembly, 
190;  goes  to  Malmaison,  198; 
recalls  his  life  there  with  Jose- 
phine, 201;  delays  his  departure, 
203;  decree  of  the  Provisional 
Government  for  the  transporta- 
tion of,  to  America,  204:  misgiv- 
ings of,  as  to  the  intentions  of 
the  Provisional  Government,  205; 
I'miehe  urges  that  he  should  de- 
part in  disguise,  200;  contradic- 
tory instructions  from  Fouche, 
200:  refuses  to  escape  on  a  mer- 
chant vessel,  2<>7:  prepares  to 
depart,  but  cherishes  a  lingering 
hope,  208;  French  frigates  placed 
at  his  disposal,  210;  proposes 
to  General  Beker  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  army  again.  210; 
sends  him  to  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment with  the  proposal.  211; 
which  is  rejected.  211:  leaves 
Malniaison  with  his   attendants, 


282 


INDEX. 


212 ;  accepts  a  diamond  necklace 
from  Queen  Hortense,  213;  at 
Kambouillet,  214;  still  cherishes 
illusions,  216;  is  welcomed  at 
Rochef ort  by  the  National  Guards, 
209;  detained  there  by  unfavor- 
able winds  and  the  English  ships, 
217 ;  propositions  made  for  his 
flight,  221 ;  goes  on  board  the 
baale,  222;  decides  to  confide 
himself  to  the  generosity  of  Eng- 
land, 224;  sends  envoys  to  Cap- 
tain Maitland  of  the  Bellerophon, 
224 ;  orders  the  Saale  to  sail  at 
once,  229;  receives  a  visit  from 
Joseph  Bonaparte,  230;  letter  of, 
to  the  Prince  Regent,  233;  his 
instructions  to  General  Gour- 
gaud,  234;  goes  on  board  the 
Bellerophon,  237;  his  suite,  238; 
drills  the  soldiers  on  the  Bellero- 
phon, 239;  breakfasts  on  the  Su- 
perb with  Admiral  Ilotham,  240; 
incidents  of  the  voyage  to  Eng- 
land, 240;  arrives  at  Torbay, 
241 ;  the  Bellerophon  ordered  to 
Plymouth,  242;  curiosity  excited 
by  his  presence,  244;  made  ac- 
quainted with  the  decision  to 
send  him  to  Saint  Helena,  247; 
his  speech  in  reply,  248  et  seq. ; 
etiquette  observed  with,  on  the 
Bellerophon,  252 ;  Las  Cases  com- 
bats the  idea  of  suicide  which  he 
inclined  to,  254;  his  written  pro- 
test, 255  ;  conceals  his  money  and 
diamonds,  257;  does  not  sur- 
render his  sword  to  Admiral 
Keith,  2fi0;  is  transferred  to  the 
Northumberland,  260;  his  habits 
on  shipboard,  264  et  seq. ;  spends 
his  mornings  in  dictation,  268; 
in  sight  of  Saint  Helena,  209; 
testament  of,  at  Longwood,  274. 
Napoleon  II.,  Napoleon  abdicates 
in  his  favor,  188;  proclaimed  Em- 
peror by  the  Chamber  of  Depu- 
ties, 195:  his  reign  a  phantasm, 
197  ;  see  Kim,'  of  Rome. 


Neipperg,  General  Count,  his  char- 
acter and  career,  2 ;  escorts  Marie 
Louise  into  Aix,  33;  closely  at- 
tendant upon  Marie  Louise,  46; 
his  success  as  the  chamberlain  of 
Marie  Louise,  63;  begins  the  war 
with  Murat,  118,  120;  his  influ- 
ence over  Marie  Louise,  133 ;  de- 
feats Murat,  134;  death  of  his 
wife,  134. 

Nettemeut,  M.  Alfred,  quoted,  190, 
251. 

Ney,  Marshal,  declares  for  Napo- 
leon, 99;  meets  him  at  Auxerre, 
100;  gives  a  banquet  to  the  offi- 
cers at  Lille,  105;  unsuccessful 
at  Quatre-Bras,  157;  attacks  La 
Haye  Sainte,  164 ;  his  intrepidity, 
165 ;  tries  to  meet  death  on  the 
battle-field,  168;  his  despairing 
words  before  the  Chamber  of 
Peers,  191. 

Northumberland,  the,  Napoleon 
transferred  to,  2(50;  description 
of,  263;  crossing  the  line,  267. 

Orleans,  Duke  of,  Alexander  I.,  in 
favor  of  a  monarchy  under,  128, 
131. 

Pacha  dc  Sxirene,  comedy  played 
at  the  Vienna  Congress,  60. 

Philibert,  Captain,  of  the  Saale  re- 
fuses to  sail  at  Napoleon's  orders, 
229. 

Ponce,  Captain,  of  the  Medusc,  he- 
roic proposition  of,  229. 

Provisional  Government,  decree  of, 
as  to  Napoleon,  203;  rejects  Na- 
poleon's proposal  to  attack  the 
Allies,  211. 

Roehefort,  affection  for  Napoleon 
at,  217;  port  of,  blockaded  by 
English  ships,  218. 

Rome,  King  of,  instructed  to  love 
and  pray  for  his  father,  2;  no 
longer  a  king,  6;  his  melancholy 
and  precocious  ways,  and  iustruc- 


IXDEX. 


283 


tion,  (58;  removed  from  the  care 
of  the  Countess  of  Montesquiou, 
117;  see  Napoleon  II. 
Royalists,  the,  in  France,  desire  the 
success  of  the  foreigner,  141. 

Savary,  General,  excluded  from 
amnesty  by  the  government  of 
Louis  XVIII.,  252. 

Segur,  General  de,  will  not  recount 
the  details  of  Napoleon's  down- 
fall, 15<i. 

Schoenbrunn.  fete  at,  71. 

Scott.  Sir  Walter,  quoted.  207,  208;  I 
describes  the  concourse  at  Ply- 
mouth to  view  Napoleon,  246. 

Soult,  Marshal,  his  tergiversation, 
108. 

Talleyrand,  Prince,  letter  to  Metter- 

nich  about  Marie  Louise's  stay  at 
Aix,  41 :  letter  of,  to  Louis  XVIII. 
upon  the  levity  of  Metternich, 
5'.*:  desires  to  withhold  Parma 
from  Marie  Louise,  73;  letter  of. 
respecting  Alexander  I.,  74,  7'i 
ctsrq.;  describes  the  Lenten 
dissipations  at  Vienna,  7<S;  ob- 
tains the  signatures  of  the  Pow- 
ers to  the  declaration  of  March 
13,  113;  sends  Louis  XVIII.  the 
Warning  to  tin  Xati'ms,  114; 
writes  to  Louis  XVIII.  respecting 
de  Montrond.  122;  writes  to  Louis 
XVIII.  explaining  the  hostility  of 
Alexander  I.  to  him,  121);  reports 


a  conversation  of  Alexander  I. 
with  Lord  Clancarty,  129. 

Tolentino,  battle  of,  134,  144;  the 
"prologue  to  Waterloo,''  144. 

Torbay.  the  Bellerophon  with  Na- 
poleon at,  241 ;  commotion  in  the 
harbor  of,  242. 

Tournament  during  the  Vienna 
Congress,  58. 

Tyrol,  the,  restored  to  Austria,  0. 

Vicenza,  the  Duke  of,  pleads  Na- 
poleon's cause  for  regaining 
possession  of  his  wife  and  son, 

no. 

Victor  Hugo,  verses  of,  on  Water- 
loo, 155. 

Vienna  Congress,  entry  of  the 
sovereigns,  54  ;  festivities  of,  50. 

"  Vigil  of  Waterloo,  The,"  158. 

Walewska,  Countess,  visits  Napo- 
leon at  Elba.  43. 

Warning  to  the  Xations.  the,  114. 

Waterloo,  Napoleon's  plans  before, 
157;  battle  of,  1(51  et  seq.;  car- 
nage after.  173. 

Wellington's  admiration  of  the 
charges  of  the  French  cuirassiers, 
H>5;  his  sadness  after  Waterloo, 
170. 

Werner,  fashionable  preacher  at 
Vienna,  70. 

Wiirtemberg,  Princess  Cathariue 
of,  her  fidelity  to  her  husband, 
275. 


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